I've Got no Strings
by StEpPiNg StOnEs
Summary: full sum inside. I never got to experience love as a child. For some reason unknown to me, the village I lived in despised me. And because of that, I suffered. It hurt. A lot. I reache dout to others, but they recoiled. And because I grew up with this, if
1. Prologue

**a/n hello! It's another story from me!! w00t! ****hope you enjoy it enoguh to come back and look for chapter one :) I relaly need to get those hyperlinks up for banners. that way you'll all know what the characters look like. and I'm sure you all care so much but...still. **

**and for anyone who reads my other stories: I am working on chapter thirteen of Butterfly Prophecy. Now time to read!**

**summary: _I never got to experience love as a child. For some reason unknown to me, the village I lived in despised me. And because of that, I suffered. It hurt. A lot. I reache dout to others, but they recoiled. And because I grew up with this, if someone excluding my siblings reached out to me, I recoiled as well. Even after I left the village. But on my journey, I met someone who could change me and allow me to love not only myself, but others as well, even if it was a tough lesson, and he was a tough teacher._

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I've Got No _Strings_

**Prologue**

It was one thing for the townspeople to say it; it was another thing completely for my own father to. Unlike a good portion of the villagers, he said it right to my face. And for some reason, it stung all the more.

For many years now, almost _everyone_ in the village referred to me as 'trash' or 'garbage'--even the kindest of people eventually did. I never knew why. When I was younger, though, I always thought of it as funny and would giggle. To me it was some sort of inside joke that I was just happy to be a part of.

As I grew a little older, and much more knowledgeable, I realized being called 'trash' and 'garbage' wasn't a _joke_, but an **insult**. I didn't stick for myself, thought, not once. It never even crossed my mind that I should. However, I grew determined to prove each and every one of them wrong. I was going to graduate the Ninja Academy as a Genin in the top 3 of my class. Not only that, but, while still a Genin, I was going to become as powerful as a Chuunin--at least--and fight for my village.

My older brother was embarrassed by my determination and disappeared whenever we were approached, walking down the street together. Every time I told the mean village kids about my 'ridiculous plan' they'd all laugh at me. One boy and a few of his friends cronies would even go so far as to spit on me.

My older sister would scold them all with harsh words, and sometimes a red-hot hand of fury would find its way across each of their faces.

She paid for that severely.

Not too much changed over the years. Except, when I was ten--soon to be eleven--two important people to me changed their opinions about me. Or they just finally were expressing their true feelings, for better or for worse.

The first was my uncle, the only remaining member of my deceased mother's family. He had always seemed a little distant with me, but I thought nothing of it. Well, that is before the day I overheard a conversation he was having with my father. That in itself wasn't so odd, but the words he used hurt me, pierced me.

I remember that day so very well; the images are still fresh on my mind. I can recite every word spoken, feel the exact way I felt back then, tell you how every person said what they said or how they looked.

And I will.

He came visiting us, as he often times did. I opened the door and, as always when I was the one to get it, he walked right on by without so much as a glance and headed for my fathers study where they always had their weekly 'private conversations'.

But I forgot he was there and went to the study to ask my father a question. Upon hearing the voices, I stopped, and would have turned back, but I couldn't I just _couldn't_.

"Yasou! Listen to what I have to say!" Uncle screamed

"If it's about the villagers' growing hostility towards my daughter, I don't want to hear it. I honestly don't understand why they feel the way they do towards her," Father said coolly

"Yasou--don't be ridiculous! Of course you know what it is! And I agree with them all."

Well kindly tell me what it is they think, since obviously I _don't_ know," Daddy replied through gritted teeth.

"It's because she's a pushover, a good-for-nothing girl who has empty dreams. She'd never be a good ninja, Yasou. She'd never be successful at _ANYTHING_, actually."

"Hiroshi, that isn't true. You know it. She is a great person with determination that will take her far. She has great potential of power..."

"Oh don't make me laugh! You got that from Satoko!" And then Uncle _did_ laugh. "That girl will go far, I tell you! She can scare people off with just her strong-headedness."

"Yes, she is rather out-spoken. And sometimes she expresses her feelings just a bit **too** loudly." I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was thinking about the time she slapped the village kids.

"Ah, yes. And obviously, she's skilled at lying which can get her far as a ninja..."

"What are you talking about?"

"She got you to believe all the crap about Hina's potential, didn't she?" Uncle Hiroshi said a bit smugly; I felt my heart seize and I clutched at the door frame. I had suspected it was me they were speaking about but, what he said confirmed it.

"Hiroshi--"

"Come on, Yasou! Tell me you don't agree with me, tell me that you don't feel the same was most of the villagers and I do."

"Hiroshi, I'm warning you--"

"You can't even bring yourself to deny it completely," Uncle sneered.

"I swear to you that I don't feel anything for my daughter but love, confidence and--"

"Stop it, Yasou. Stop lying and trying to be like her mother. Lying to a young girl--or just a girl like her--can cause the child to become corrupt. You wouldn't like that, would you?" Uncle said in a deathly whisper.

"The things people have been saying to her is what will corrupt her, if anything. The things they have all been saying is--"

"--the truth, Yasou," Uncle Hiroshi cut him off again. "It's always good to be honest, even if it hurts. Because living a life filled with a false sense of security and love, and then finding out it was all just an illusion--that can ruin a person worse than the nasty truth ever could."

"Under certain circumstances, yes, I would have to say I agree."

"And wouldn't this fall under that category? Once she finds out that her dear old father has been deceiving her all this time..."

"You're the one who has been lying to her, Hiroshi."

Uncle snorted. "What? No. I've never shown any interest in the girl--real _or_ fake."

"But you've never told her what you just told me, have you?"

"No, but I believe it was implied that I didn't like her. Otherwise, don't you think she'd ask why I didn't treat her the same as Satoko and Haruki?"

"Hiroshi, she's just a child. No matter how smart she might be, she might not necessarily catch that. I never did."

"That's because you don't pay attention to your children, Yasou. That was always Daija's job. She was a much better parent. And it isn't only the children you don't pay attention to. There are so many things. You seem to only care about training and jobs. You haven't tried to change since-"

"Enough, Hiroshi. We aren't talking about that," Daddy whispered in a pained way; Uncle said nothing more for a minute.

"I'll tell her, if that's what it takes to get you to admit how you feel. I promise I will tell her I think she is scum, I'll tell her I think she's worthless, and that she's a waste of oxygen. I'll tell her that I think she should give up, drop out of the ninjas school and pursue a simpler trade, or think about it for when she's older. I'll tell her I don't think she's smart enough to--"

"Hiroshi--**stop it**, right now," my dad growled in a threatening way.

"Can I tell you my suggestion? It's what I really came here to say..."

"What is it? Make it quick!" Dad snapped.

"I think we should reunite her with her mother. It would make many villagers happy, I'm sure, to get such a nuisance out of their hair. Daija would be happy to see her youngest child, I'm sure, and Hina no doubt would be pleased to see the only one who ever truly cared for her..."

"What?! No!!"

"Why didn't you cut me off before I was finished? You're considering it, aren't you?" Uncle said in a devilish way.

"My daughter will _not_ be murdered," Father said shakily; I thought it was out of anger and hurt, but--looking back on it now--I'm not too sure anymore.

"Why not?"

"Hiroshi--get out," Father hissed.

"Not until you--"

But Dad cut him off by pounding his fist down on his desk; the sounds of glass dropping to the ground and shattering filled the air, breaking the silence. "Get out right now."

"Yasou--"

"One...Two..."

"I'm going, I'm going."

Using all the energy I could muster, since most of it had gone to keeping myself from breaking down and crying, I got away from the door and began to ran. But I tripped over my feet and fell flat on my face. And even though I was a light-weight, the hall-table shook and down came the vase of my mother's. The shards fell on my, scraping the bare skin. I ignored the searing pain and tried to get to my feet, but I didn't make it in time. Uncle Hiroshi stepped out of the room and immediately spotted me; he smirked.

"Well, well, well. Looky here, Yasou. Looks like I don't need to tell my niece how I feel. Turns out she was spying on us..."

I looked up at him with the type of fear a 5-year-old would give their parent when they were caught stealing cookies, only intensified.

"Hiroshi--leave right now, or _else_."

Uncle, knowing how powerful my father was, decided to leave without a fight. Casting a look at me, he grumbled something, and closed the door behind him.

"Daddy," I whimpered, a moment or so later, sitting up but not lifting myself off the ground. "What did I do wrong? Why does everyone hate me?"

"Oh, Hina," Daddy whispered, kneeling down beside me and pulling me close so I could snuggle my face against him. But it didn't stop the white-hot tears from pouring out of my eyes like the waterfall that hid our village.

"What did I do, Daddy?"

"Nothing, sweetheart. You never did anything..."

The pain I felt then was unreal. To this day, I still feel like I'm dying when I think about it...

Anyway! Not too much later, another, happier opinion was changed: My brother, Haruki, decided he was no longer ashamed of me. He stood by my side and stuck up for me. Of course, he couldn't compare to what Satoko did but, he was still getting used to it.

My siblings became my friends, my only friends. I was with them whenever I could be, but that didn't always work out too well since they had already graduated the Academy, and I was still attending it.

Now that brings us up to the present, so let me continue my story, and stop talking about the past.

_It was one thing for the townspeople to say it; it was another thing completely for my own father to. Unlike a good portion of the villagers, he said it right to my face. And for some reason, it stung all the more._

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**a/n yup! that's the prologue! Now I'm going to upload the first chapter and then I have to edite some stuffs. on my homepage and what not...:)**


	2. Part One

**a/n aren't you just thrilled about this story? It's so...exciting, ain't it:P

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I've Got No _Strings_

**Chapter One-Honesty**

It happened one day, shortly after my graduation from the Ninja Academy, and then the final test with your sensei. Mine was one-on-one though because I was going to be teamed up with my brother and sister since it was an odd numbered class and their original third teammate died...

I made it.

But apparently, that didn't make a difference. People still sent me dirty looks as I passed by with my siblings. All the way home they did this. I ignored it the best I could. But that didn't help too much.

Satoko and Haruki gave a start when someone made a comment, but I held them back.

"It's no necessary. I'm used to it," I said softly, a light, fake smile making its way onto my face.

Haruki rose an eyebrow but grunted an acceptance.

"But--Hina!!" Satoko argued; I cut her short.

"Let's just get home, okay?"

It didn't take too much longer to do that. The three of us stepped into the main building together and found our father, tired and graying, waiting for us.

"Daddy! Daddy I passed! I'm officially a ninja for the Waterfall Village!" I exclaimed, smiling brightly as I ran towards my father to hug him.

"Oh! That's...great! Satoko, Haruki? Can you go...do something while I talk to your sister?"

"Of course, Daddy!" Satoko said, and headed back out, dragging Haruki out by the ear after her before he could argue.

"Aren't you proud of me? I even finished in the top 5 of the class, which isn't exactly what I had planned on, but it's still good, isn't it?" I looked up at my father with eyes glimmering, feeling the familiar sensation of being a little kid again.

"Yes, yes. That's all fine and dandy, sweetie, but there's something I want to talk to you about. Please, follow me."

He led me to his study, a place we usually werent allowed to enter, and sat me down on one of the chairs.

"Hina...do you remember the last time your uncle Hiroshi was here?"

I nodded slowly, tracing a finger over the pale, barley noticeable scars on my arm: the scars from the fallen vase.

"Well, what I want to talk to you about has to do with that..."

"Nani?"

"You'll understand in a minute, Hina. Now how much of our conversation did you hear?"

I rolled my eyes upward and stuck out my tongue, as I usually did when I thought of something. I still remembered that day so well, even though it was two years ago.

"Um...I believe the words were _'Yasou! Listen to what I have to say!'_!"

"Okay, so you heard it all. Do you recall any of the rest of the conversation?"

"Yes. I remember it **all**. But Daddy! Why are you asking me these things? What doe sit have to do with me becoming a ninja?!"

"Honey, I said we'd get to that!" My father snapped; I sunk down in my seat, cowering a little under his fierce gaze. My father, a powerful ninja in the village Hidden by the Waterfall, was quite frightening. Especially when he was angry...No one experienced that more than Satoko, Haruki, and me.

"Yes, sir," I whispered, staring at the floor.

"Now, on with what I was saying. You passed, correct?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"That isn't good, not good at all," he mumbled, looking distant. "Hina, I was hoping I wouldn't have to say this. But, as it turns out, I do."

"Nani?"

"Hina--you aren't cut out to be a ninja. I think you should just quit. You're too delicate, too weak. You don't even stand up for yourself, you won't be able to protect anyone _else_."

I stared up at him in horror, the buzz of the townspeople ringing in my head. _'Trash. Let's see you give me a shove. Come on! Do it!' 'It's because she's a pushover, a good-for-nothing girl who has empty dreams. She'd never be a good ninja, Yasou. She'd never be successful at ANYTHING, actually.' 'Hina, why don't you just crawl into a hole and die.'_

His words stung so much more than those of all the others. I leaned forward, staring at the hard-wood floor which looked as if it were spinning underneath me.

"Hina, did you hear me?"

"Did I hear you call me scum? Yes, I believe I did," I whispered.

"What?! That isn't what I said!"

"Yes it is!!"

"No, I just said you were delic--"

"Stop lying Daddy!!!" I screamed, squeezing my eyes shut so that the tears wouldn't leak out. I wouldn't show anymore weakness. "You agreed with Uncle Hiroshi, didn't you? You agreed with the townspeople. You thought I was worthless, pathetic, that I should die. But for how long? Daddy, how long have you been lying to me?" My voice noticeable shook as I spoke; I wouldn't look up at him, I didn't want to see the expression on his face. And I didn't want **him** to see the tears that found their way out from under my eyelids, fat and hot, leaving streaks on my cheeks.

"Never. Not once. Just please, take my advise and leave the ninja career. You arent cut out for it. I just want you to be safe. I love you."

"_'"Stop it, Yasou. Stop lying and trying to be like her mother. Lying to a young girl--or just a girl like her--can cause the child to become corrupt. You wouldn't like that, would you?"'_ were Uncle Hiroshi's exact words, weren't they? Don't they seem rather fitting?"

"No! Not at all!" My father seemed desperate to get me to believe him, but I couldn't. Looking deep into his eyes, deeper than I had ever bothered to look before because I trusted him, loved him, I saw the same hatred I saw in the eyes of the townspeople.

"Just tell me, Daddy," even though I used an endearing term, it was still a threatening command.

"I couldn't do that to you, Hina," he said.

Laughing a little, I finally opened my eyes and looked up at him. "But saying that already gave away the fact that your opinion on me is offensive. Otherwise you'd gladly tell me about your love and compassion. What, do you think I'm too _fragile_ for the truth, Daddy? I just want to be freed from the darkness and to see the light, no matter how dark it is. I want the blanket pulled away from my eyes."

"Hina, it doesn't say that at all--"

"Oh really? Most parents wouldn't even have to have their child ask for their opinion. They'd just say it with a genuine smile on their face. If your opinion was nice, you'd act just the same." I suddenly went quiet and looked back at the floor, strands of my hair falling in my pale eyes.

After much hesitation, father cleared his throat as a way to bring back my attention. "Fine," he said, and began struggling to find the right words.

"Don't bother trying to be delicate. I just want to hear the words, since I already see it all in your eyes. Just say what comes to your head."

Glancing upward, I saw a shocked look on his face, but he nodded.

_I'm not exactly as you think, am I?_

"Try honesty," I whispered so that he couldn't hear.

"Fine. I think you are too fragile to be a ninja. You're a pushover who can't even stand up for yourself. How are you supposed to protect the village? And you want to know how long I've been lying to you? Let's see if this answers that.

"I never really liked you. I don't know why, but since the day you were born, deep down inside of me, I didn't much care for you, though I didn't want you dead like your uncle did. However, Daija, your mother, loved you to pieces. She pampered you, because she thought you were so sweet.

"Meanwhile, I got busier with being a shin obi, and be default was less concerned with the family. Once she was murdered, I decided it would only be fair to treat you all the way she would, so it would seem like she was still there. I--"

"So you've always been lying to me?"

"In a sense, yes, I suppose I have been. But I didn't always know. I just instinctively got busier, not knowing it was my dislike for you. I didn't know until Uncle came two years ago. He awoke my feelings."

"Ah, I see. Well, that's enough." I stood and slowly walked out of there, not even sparing him another glance. I picked up the pace a little once in the hall, quickly turning into my room and grabbing a bag from under my bed. I jammed some items into it, closed and locked it, and then left.

Satoko and Haruki were practicing with shuriken in the backyard. I looked at them sadly, pausing briefly to watch my older siblings, and then walked on.

"Hina!! Hina what did Dad want to talk to you about?!" Haruki asked, dropping his shuriken and running up behind me.

"Oh, it was nothing. He was just telling me something that he's been..._hiding_ for a long time now, is all."

"Was it something bad?"

"In a sense, yes. But it was a good thing he informed me of it, at last. I don't like it when I'm blind to things." I frowned a little, stopping abruptly so that Haruki bumped into me. Satoko, on the other hand, was more careful and avoided doing the same thing by walking around the both of us and stopping in front of me, facing me with a look on her face, a mixture of concern and suspicion.

"Yes, yes, we know that, Hina. But why do you have your suitcase? Where are you going?"

"A friend's house?" Haruki asked curiously, joining Satoko in front of me.

"You two know perfectly well that my only friends are the both of you," I whispered sadly, and looked towards the ground. My hair hung in my eyes; I didn't bother to brush it away. I felt a throb in my heart, and was tempted to put a hand over it, but I stopped. I didn't want these two to see how weak I was, not right then. Of course, they must have known. But they werent used to seeing my pain, because I hid it so well with a shining face.

But, no matter how glad I was to know the true feelings of my father, it hurt. A lot.

I bit my lower lip briefly and then looked up at my siblings.

"Hina-sama...are you alright?" Satoko whispered, extending her hand and touching me lightly on the arm.

"I'm fine, onee-chan."

"But, Hina..." Haruki knit his eyebrows together in a thoughtful way, and soon began pulling at the bottom of his shirt.

"Onii-chama, onee-chan, please, don't worry about me. I'm just going out."

"Going where?"

It was obvious that the two of them wouldn't let me leave until I told them. I let out a resigned sigh.

"Promise you won't tell Father if I tell you guys?" I asked, brushing the loose hair away gently; it fell right back in my eyes

"Promise," Satoko said; Haruki nodded solemnly.

"I'm going to go thank a couple people. And then...then I'm running away."

Silence surrounded the three of us. Satoko looked sad, holding at her throat the way she always did when her throat had gone dry and she couldn't say anything.

Haruki looked confused.

"Nani? Hina--why are you leaving? What happened?!"

"Haruki!!" Satoko shrieked, her hands going down to her side. "You **must** know," she said in a lowered voice.

The 14-year-old boy's face lit up in realization. Satoko nodded; I laughed a little to myself.

"I'm just tired of ignoring it, is all. And the only way I'll stop hearing it is if I leave this place." I looked up at the sky for a moment. "Arigato, onii-chama, onee-chan. Sayonara." I saluted my older siblings and then silently continued onward.

They didn't come after me. I was glad. I needed to be alone at this time. Otherwise I might reconsider running away. And running away was the very thing I needed to keep breathing.

"But overall, I must say I'm thankful to him for finally trying honesty with me. To think he's been lying to me since the day I was born," I thought aloud. But any passing citizens of the village would have just ignored me.

In no time at all, I reached the large cemetery of our small village. Idly, I walked towards the center of the field of gravestones where I was sure to find a long row of deceased members of my family--on my mother's side.

Right next to each other, the two people I wanted to "visit" were buried. They had been close as they were growing up, and forever afterwards.

_I hope they're with each other now,_ I thought to myself as I knelt down on the green grass; in front of the one grave the grass was flattened. That was mostly from my knees being there, all the time.

My hand shook as it lifted itself from the ground and touched the cold granite of the grave. My finger absently traced over her name. Using her maiden name on the grave, it read '_ Akarui Daija_'.

"Arigato, Mommy," I whispered, my hand falling limp to the ground, touching the withered flowers that surprisingly still lay in front of her grave from a visit a while back.

_What for?_ the wind whispered.

Only there was no wind. The air was still, serene. The leaves on the trees moved not, and the crisp, brown petals of the flowers on the ground right by me stayed as deadly immobile as they had been.

It didn't take me long to figure out that it was my mother speaking to me. Quite unlike what was said about me, I was quite bright.

"For everything. You loved me, cared for me. One of the only ones who truly ever did..." My fingers closed around the thorn-covered stem of the dead bouquet of flowers; blood trickled slowly from the spots I was pricked, but I was numb to the quick pain of a thorn sticking me.

_Why, darling, do you say that?_

My eyes opened wide, and I felt myself begin to shake. "You mean..._you_ didn't love me either. Father was lying to me then as well?"

Like the rustling of leaves, she laughed. _I didn't say that, did I? But why are you thanking me for loving you? It was so easy. You were sweet, **are** sweet. I don't understand why the village never loved you._

Relieved by the fact that she wasn't one of many who had hated me, I allowed a fleeting smile to pass over my face. "Neither do I. I'm sure someone knows but--"

_Half of them probably don't even know themselves. They just don't want to be different from the others, so they act coldly towards you. You don't deserve it, Hina._

Something cold touched my forehead, brushing the loose hair, too short to be pulled back into the hairstyle I used, off of my forehead.

"Mommy? Is that you?"

_Yes, sweetie._

I nodded, quickly getting off my knees and changing positions so that I sat Indian-style.

"Mommy. I have a question for you."

_What is it?_

"How come I can hear you talking? And, even though no wind is moving, I hear a constant rustling of leaves all around me."

I felt her hand touch my shoulder, cold at first, but then she warmed. She was smiling.

_It's because you are so quiet. In this village, there are many dead people. And if its quiet enough, you can hear their ghosts speaking. That's the rustling you hear. You can't make out what they're saying because you aren't talking to **them**. Not many people are quiet enough for long enough to hear their deceased loved ones talking to them, or other ghosts just wanting contact with the living. However, they always seem to see the angry ghosts, the ones haunting them_ She chuckled. That time it didn't sound like the rustling of leave sin the wind, but actually like my mother's chuckle. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"When we first started talking, you sounded like the wind. But now, Mommy, you sound like yourself."

_That isn't good. You aren't used to conversing with the dead. If we talk for too long, and I start to sound completely like myself...it just isn't good. But, you must have talent in this area. Speaking to ghosts that is. Not many can hear the true voices so quickly. I must leave you now, Hina, darling. I love you._

"I love you, too," I whispered; there was no reply. However, a real wind did pass, plucking the dead leaves right off the flower (the ones that remained) and off the ground, carrying them away. I loosened my grip on the stem until it fell to the ground, too, covered in spots of blood.

I pressed my scratched hand on my shirt for a minute until all the blood stopped coming out. Then I turned to the grave beside my mother's.

"Uncle Hiroshi," I whispered, scooting towards his grave. "It's been a long time since I've spoken to you. Not that I ever really did talk to you much, you didn't like me." I laughed nervously, staring at the gravestone hard.

The sound of strong winds passed by, growling in my ear.

_What do you want?_

"I came to thank you, Uncle. Because of you, my father's true feelings were revealed. And you were right, lies can corrupt a child. It's always good to know the truth."

I felt a lump begin to form in my throat. Unsuccessfully, I tried to swallow it down.

_I always knew I was right_ The wind sounded smug, which was somewhat amusing.

"That was all I had to say to you. Now I'll be going."

_Where to?_

"I'm running away," I informed him simply.

The ghost of my uncle was silent for a moment, and I thought, like my mother, he left me. But, as I was about to stand, he spoke again.

_Stay a while_ he ordered

"Talking to you or...?" I trailed off, confused. What did Uncle Hiroshi care if I ran away? If he was still alive, he'd probably actually be happy to be rid of me.

_In the village, you twit! Jeez...you really are dumb..._

"No I am NOT! I've had enough of these insults for one day, **thank you very much**!"

There was a noise resembling a snicker. _My, we've grown feisty, haven't we?_

I ignored the comment. "How long do you expect me to stay? And where do you expect me to stay hidden? I already told Satoko and Haruki that I was leaving, I cant just go back home. Oh I'm sorry, **to my house**."

_And they didn't try to stop you? My, my...shows how much they really care for you, doesnt it?_

"Please, Uncle...stop it," I whispered feeling my heart sink. What if that was why they didn't come after me? Uncle Hiroshi always had a way of making me doubt.

_Now to answer your questions, leave in maybe two days. That way you get to think about where you'll go. Bet you didn't think of that, hm?_

I shook my head. "No. I just thought of getting out of this place."

_Just as I thought. Now as for where you'll stay...here, in the cemetery. There are plenty of places where no one will find you, if you hide properly. I'll show you to one later._ I began to hear the sneer in his voice and, remembering the words of my mother just moments before, I was prepared to stop conversing at any time.

"Okay. Arigato, Uncle. Sayonara, for now."

_Wait a minute. Before you decide to leave, there's one more thing I have to say._

"What is that?"

_Whenever you go, I'm coming with you._

"Nani?!"

_There are some things I need to tell you. And, I could help you._ I could imagine him shrugging.

"Why would you want to do that? And what kind of things--"

_You'll find out some other time. Sayonara!_

And then there was nothing.

"I wonder why it's so bad if Mommy starts to sound completely like herself..." I pondered aloud as I made myself comfortable in the grass, hidden behind the tall and wide gravestones.

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**a/n okay! so that's the first chapter! was it liked? anyway! I have to go fix some things on my homepage and then I got to get back to doing some other things. I relaly hope you are enjoying my works and I look forward to any reviews. :P**


	3. Part Two

**a/n okay! so this is the second chapter of my Kankurou story, _I've Got No Strings_. I know it's been a little while, but not terribly long, has it? anyway! I hope you enjoy it!! feedback mucho appreciated

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I've Got No _Strings_

**Chapter Two-Gone**

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"How many days has it been?" I wondered aloud, plucking blades of grass from the earth. I was bored out of my mind. I wasn't used to the tranquility, the silence, the ease of being completely alone, but for the spirits.

_You're always alone_ a voice whispered inside my head in a low, hissing voice that echoed.

"Not like this. This isn't painful. It's just..._boring_," I whispered, rolling from my side onto my back to stare at the cloudy sky.

_Are you talking to yourself again? _Uncle Hiroshi asked, amused.

"Hey, at least a lot of people do that. How often do you see someone talking to _ghosts_, huh?"

_Umm, Hina? That's what **you're doing** right now. _

I blinked. "I can't think straight right now. There's nothing to do sitting in a cemetery for..._really! **How many days has it been?!**_"

_Two_ he lazily replied.

"Okay! Tomorrow, I'm leaving. No matter what. I can't stand it here anymore."

_Fine. Just make sure you re-stock on food since you probably ate it all already_

"First of all, I'm not a pig; I wouldn't have eaten all the food even if I HAD brought any, which I **didn't**. And secondly, why do you care? If I starve, what does it matter to you? You wanted me dead anyway." It was hard to mask up the hurt in my voice. But whether I did a bad job or a good job, I didnt know. The ghost of my uncle said nothing about it. For a moment, he remained silent.

_You didn't bring food? What have you been eating? _

"Nothing really." I turned back onto my side, squeezing my eyes shut in attempt to force myself to sleep even though it was still early evening.

Uncle Hiroshi said no more, at last leaving me in peace. I didn't understand why he was talking to me, giving me advice, or why he decided to come with me when I finally left. _He hated me..._ I thought, yawning widely as I made myself comfortable in the grass behind the maintenance shed.

"I can't wait until I'm gone," I whispered to myself, half-asleep; unconsciously my hand moved towards my stomach. My fingers brushed over the cold metal of my forehead protector.

\\//\\//\\//

At the crack of dawn, I was awake, ready to leave. I held the suitcase handle firmly, and my hand was beginning to sweat.

"It's best to leave when no one can see me," I told myself. Despite this, or maybe _because_ of this, I couldn't get myself to move. My muscles had locked themselves; trying to move was futile.

In the village, I saw a light go on. Like a chain on dominos, houses all over lit up and slowly, I saw the streets fill up. I watched in slight aggravation. Not at the people though, at myself. I could have left before anyone came out, before anyone could spot me. But now the risk was high that I'd be caught--and my someone I knew.

"Bye, Mom," I whispered into the nothingness, and finally took a step forward.

The sound of a gentle breeze rushing past my ears met me as my mothers voice, sending me off with well wished.

_I love you_ she whispered.

"Love you, too," I replied just as quietly, and ran out of the cemetery soundlessly. The suitcase slapped against my side as I tried to run unnoticed through the early morning crowd.

"Hina!" someone shouted, stopping me dead in my tracks. It wasn't a very welcoming tone of voice--actually, it just wasnt a welcoming voice.

"Hina, what are you doing here? It was rumored that you ran away three days ago!"

I slowly turned around. "What do you want, _Maemi_?" I asked coolly, staring at the boy; he was quite a bit taller than me, had much more muscle than I, and was only half a year older. His face was kind looking, but judging him by that would just cheat you of the truth. Maemi was a cruel guy. As children, he had tortured me more than anyone else. Satoko scolded him more than anyone else for spitting at me, because had started it. No one else even would have done it if they hadn't been afraid of the guy.

"I'm wondering what you're still doing here, _trash_," he sneered, walking closer to me. Too soon, he was only about a foot away from me; with narrowed eyes, he stared down at me, disapproving. "Everyone's been rejoicing since you left. Or **supposedly** left. Where've you been hiding?"

"It's none of your business," I replied haughtily. Knowing that soon I'd be rid of him and all the others gave me courage.

"Oh it's very much my business," he said, his hand firmly gripping at my upper arm. My whole body tensed at his touch.

"Please, leave me alone," I begged quietly. I hated being around Maemi. He stirred memories, making me hurt inside.

"You know, if you run away, you can't become a great ninja, like you always bragged that you would. It would be unlikely even if you stayed here, but it will be impossible if you leave your home village. You won't be able to do missions or..."

"Oh you're one to talk, Maemi. You scored worse in the entire class! And it just so happens that _many_ ninjas become great away from their home villages!"

"Oh yeah? If they do I bet it's after they're at least Chuunin."

"Not necessarily, no," I said, not daring to look up lest he saw through my lie. I hadn't any clue, really, how many people became great away from their village, and what stage they were at if they did. And Maemi would easily see that.

"Name _one_."

"Yeah, like I could really think of one off the top of my head. _Honestly_ Maemi," I snorted, lifting my right hand and reaching over my chest to try and pry his hand off my arm.

His grip tightened; inside my mouth, I bit my tongue. I wasn't going to let him see that he was causing me physical pain. Blinking a few times before hand, I looked up at him. My pale lavender eyes were cold.

"Let go of me. I have to leave," I demanded.

"So you really are leaving?" Maemi inquired, his voice softening as he did so, strangely enough. The grip he had on my arm loosened greatly.

"Yes, I am," I whispered. All the courage that I had felt before dissipated at a rapid pace when I saw Maemi's fierce gaze, staring holes in me.

"...why?" he asked after a bit of time.

"Oh you should know better than anyone, _Maemi_. As children you hurt me more than anyone else did. You went out of your way to torment me."

"All I did was tease you, though. It can't be so bad that you need to leave..." Maemi sounded so weak as he spoke; with his free hand he ran his fingers through his curly locks of his strawberry-blonde hair.

"Try thinking about someone other than yourself for once. Everyone else in the village...my own uncle, and now...now my father..." I began to feel choked and I turned my head away. In the eyes of Maemi, I was weak enough. But crying in front of him at the age of twelve would push me so far over the edge on the chart of 'Pathetic and Weak' that I would be the mascot.

"Huh?"

"Nothing! It's none of your business! Jeez, why are you even talking to me?! Just leave me alone!" I snapped angrily, my eyes flashing as I looked back at him. With my right sleeve, I wiped away the oncoming tears.

"Shut up, will you?" he growled. "Jeez, you really are a weak piece of scum. I'm barely holding onto you anymore and you still struggle to get away."

"Just let go!!" I shrieked; no one bothered to look to see what was happening, however. It was just Satu Hina, the worthless daughter of the famous Satu Yasou. No one was concerned if something was happening to me.

Roughly, Maemi's free hand grabbed my chin and he jerked my head to face him; my bangs hung in my eyes. Suddenly more gently, he brushed them away and leaned down close to me. The look on his face showed weakness, hurt, want. I was confused as his nose touched mine and his lips began to close in on mine.

"No, no, stop it!" I writhed about, pulling my thin arm from his grip and then shoving him in the chest forcefully with both hands. He stumbled backwards in surprise, catching himself just before he crashed to the ground.

"Hina--" he began, coming back towards me.

Sniffling, I swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump in my throat without it going into my eyes, which were already little dripping faucets.

"Hina, what's wrong?" Maemi whispered, his eyes wide in confusion; he reached to grab a hold of my wrist, but, just before he did, a kunai knife came flying by.

"_Hey_! You stay away from her, you got that?"

A familiar voice in an unfamiliar tone said. A hand was placed on my shoulder, warm and rough.

"Haruki--?" Maemi choked.

"If you lay another hand on my sister," Haruki began; I looked up at him and was surprised to see his eyes, stone cold and narrowed as he glared daggers into my former classmate.

"--we'll kill you," someone else finished for my brother. It was Satoko, looking posotively frightening with green chakra flying around her body like little needles, her black hair for once loose and pulled upward by a secret wind that somehow also turned each individual strand into a deadly whip.

"Look, I wasn't trying to hurt her," Maemi argued.

Haruki stepped in front of me. "You don't _need_ to try, Maemi. You just **do**. Now leave her alone, or I swear, Satoko and I _will_ have to do as we promised."

"Hina..." Maemi whispered, as if trying to reach out for me with his voice; my eyes widened as I looked over at him, but not in surprise--I was far past that. In hurt. I slapped my hands over my ears and fell to my ears, shaking uncontrollably.

"_GO!!_" Satoko roared; Maemi ran off, not another word said.

Haruki knelt down beside me, gently holding my upper arm with one hand as he draped the other arm across my back. Unlike when Maemi did it, it felt nice. I felt like I was safe from the world and its terrors.

"Hina...what did he do?"

"**This** time you mean, hopefully? Because if you had her list all of the things...that would take ages"

I blinked. Maemi...hadn't really done anything. He had called me some names, yes, but, what really frightened me was when he got _close_ to me. It was **way** too close for comfort.

"Come on. Let's just go," I whispered, bringing myself to my feet, laughing lightly--that was my way of brushing things away. Haruki's hand fell down, and he grabbed hold of my sleeve. I looked down at him, the shadow of a small smile finding its place on my lips.

He furrowed his eyebrows together, forming a deep frown in his forehead. I watched him carefully, curious about each movement he made. He opened and closed his mouth, looking quite like a fish, and watched me with his chocolate brown eyes.

"Haruki, stop making faces and get off the ground," Satoko said monotonously as she quickly did her hair up. Her violet eyes never left Haruki as she silently waited for him to follow her order; eventually my older brother stood and began wandering around in the immediate area.

Satoko smiled lightly at me as she brushed the dust off the lap of her kimono. "So, what was all that about, huh? And why are you still here? You told us three days ago that you were running away..."

"Thanks for being there, right then. How convenient that you were there, huh?" I changed the subject.

Satoko sighed. "Fine. You don't want to talk about it. I get it," she said irritably. "Was it really all that bad?"

"Well, _no_...but I didn't like it," I said sheepishly, avoiding her gaze.

"Well, I'm glad we showed up while you were there. It makes things a **whole** lot easier. Now Haruki, Yoshi-sensei, and I don't have to run around looking for you!"

"...Yoshi-sensei?" I asked weakly, finally looking over at my eldest sibling.

Satoko nodded. "Yup. Haruki and I just convinced him last night to come with us. Took us a while but...I guess we could go tell him now that we no longer need him to come. He should be showing up soon enough..." Satoko stood on her toes and craned her neck, looking about for our sensei.

"What? Why would you tell him that?"

"Well it seems like you've decided to stay so--"

"No, I'm still leaving. In fact I was about to leave when Maemi showed up..."

"Oh, _please_ Hina! Please just stay here, at home, with Haruki and I!" Satoko begged; she looked desperate. In fact, she **had** to be desperate to be _begging_. That was just something that dignified Satoko didn't do.

"I would already be gone but...someone asked me to wait." I cast my eyes about as if in search for Uncle. It wasn't as if I could see him though. He was always careful to make sure that I couldn't, even if we were talking for a while, which was rare.

"Who?" Satoko asked curiously, cocking her head to the side.

"...No one important," I said passively. I was acting quite unlike myself, but I couldn't help it. The words and actions just came without warning, and I wasn't quick enough to stop them.

"Why are you being so stubborn, Hina?" Satoko sighed, shoulders slumping slightly.

"Sorry," I murmured, silently pulling a red ribbon from my sister's slender hand; Satoko looked surprised for a moment as I weaved it through her silky dark hair, but after a moment she smiled.

"Arigato," she said.

I just smiled in reply as I looked up at the sky--it was showing signs of rain, which caused me to smile. I liked the rain. It was so...calming.

"Hey Hina, Satoko! Yoshi-sensei's here!" Haruki exclaimed, waving an arm frantically over his head. Beside him was a young, smiling man that I immediately recognized as the original sensei of my siblings, and now mine as well.

"Yoshi-sensei!" Satoko beamed and ran over to greet the man. I hesitantly followed when I saw him beckoning, the smile on his face never leaving.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't little Hina," Yoshi said, smiling brightly and ruffling my bangs. "We were just about to go look for you but, you're still here."

"I was actually just about to leave," I said forcefully, trying to make sure that he didn't attempt stopping me. "I'm only still here because someone asked me to stay for a little bit. To think or something."

"I see...now, who is it that convinced you?"

I shook my head. "Never mind that," was my quiet response as I looked towards the sky again. There was almost no trace of sunlight, and the clouds were a dark gray--a sure sign of rain.

"Well, I suppose I can let you leave now," Yoshi-sensei said slowly while idly scratching at his cheek.

"Yoshi-sensei!!" Haruki shouted, wide-eyed. "How can you just--"

A hand was clamped over my brother's mouth in an instant; Yoshi's eyes glittered playfully as he smirked. "Will you let me finish, _please_?"

Haruki grumbled something in reply and crossed his arms over his chest, not even attempting to pry his sensei's hand from his mouth.

"Now I'll let you go, _if_..." he watched me carefully, waiting for a reaction to say anything more.

_Why do they all care so much if I leave? Why are they trying to stop me? They **must** know what's been going on since I was a child...They **have** to know that..._

"If _what_?" I asked weakly, my body going limp. I was sure that the 'if' would be something hard, or something I wasn't willing to do. Plus, the chance that these people didn't know...it hurt to think about.

"If we can come with you!" Yoshi-sensei said cheerfully, his smile brightening.

"That's...all?" I asked blankly.

"Yup! I think it would be a good opportunity for all of us to get away from here. We could travel places and, since it was your idea, you could tell us our destination."

"...Okay. Sure."

_I don't want to be alone_

Satoko smiled and threw her arms around me; my face got buried in the large sleeve of her kimono, the strong scent of lilacs going up my nose, causing me to feel dizzy.

"Well, this works out splendidly! Let's get a move on, shall we? I have plenty of money for all of us, so we shouldn't be needing too many supplies..." Yoshi exclaimed, looking truly pleased. But the look quickly fell from his face as he looked over his shoulder. Directly behind our group of four was a fairly large building with many stories--it was the building of the leader of our village, Shibuki. He was a nice man but...weak. My father was stronger than him but, then again, he was stronger than everyone else as well.

Not many people in The Hidden Village of Waterfall were strong, and many died young because they drank the forbidden water and couldn't handle it.

A thought that crossed my mind many times came by again. _If everyone is weak then why am **I** only considered scum...?_

"I'm going to go get permission from Sabuki to leave. You three stay right here, and I'll be right back, okay?"

As Satoko and I nodded, Haruki grunted a reply. Yoshi's hand had never left his face, something that irritated him greatly.

Yoshi-sensei smiled at the three of us again and then ran off to the building; Haruki opened his mouth wide, exagerrating as he stretched it out from the little movement it got while our sensei's hand had been slapped down on it.

Satoko rolled her eyes, pushing aside a short strand of her dark hair. I watched in an amused silence as we all waited for our sensei to return, as promised.

And not a moment later, he was there, smiling that bright smile of his. "Okay, we've got permission to leave! And he didn't even give us a date we have to return by!"

His gray eyes glittered brightly, and as they did so, they showed off a spark of green. I had never noticed before the many specks of different colors he had in his pale eyes. Then again, I had never bothered to make eye-contact with the man.

"Okay so...we're all ready to leave now, I suppose?" He asked, running a hand through his hair as he looked from Satoko, to Haruki, and then to me; his gaze lingered on me the longest, and then flickered to my side. Just as he did that, I felt a ripple go across my arm, and the hairs on it stood up.

Uncle Hiroshi was there, and rearing to go; I inwardly sighed, not sure if I really wanted the ghost to come along.

"Alrighty then! Let's go!"

We started off walking--I stayed with the group then. But once we began to sprint and jump from tree to tree, I lagged behind. This worked in my favor, for once, because I could talk to the ghost of my uncle in peace.

"Uncle," I began. "Is it safe for you to come? Your ghost won't disappear, will it?"

_Why do you care?_ he sneered.

"I just do, alright? Even if you hated me, excuse me _hate_ me, you're still...you're still family," I choked.

He didn't seem affected by what I said; that pleased me. If he was affected by it, it was sure to be no good for her.

_To answer your question, no. My ghost won't disappear. Spirits wander around all the time, and nothing happens._ He paused. _You better catch up to them, slow-poke. Otherwise, you'll just end up getting lost._

"No I won't," I muttered, but pushed myself to the limit anyway, quickening my pace and catching up to them just in time for them all to come to an abrupt stop; I crashed right into Yoshi sensei, who stood on a rather wide branch, and stumbled backwards.

He caught my wrist and pulled me close to his side. "I'm glad you caught up," he said, head bent and looking down at me. "But you have to learn to make sudden stops, alright?"

"Yes, sensei," I murmured, shoulders sagging.

Yoshi-sensei laughed a little and turned around. "Okay. We're approaching the waterfall, just in case any of you are wondering what that roaring in your ears is. Let's get down to the ground now, okay?"

And without waiting for a response, Sensei snatched my wrist and jumped straight down to the ground. He landed perfectly on the ground, two feet in place, not trembling, not in pain from the large drop. I, on the other hand, had tingling feet and ankles, and was shaking all over from the sudden action of my Sensei. I had been prepared to jump from branch to branch until it was low enough to reach the ground, just as my older siblings were doing, but hadnt been able to even take a step before I had been pulled down.

Soon, Haruki and Satoko were on either side of Yoshi and I, crouched as they rested on the balls of their feet. They rested for a moment before they simultaneously straightened their bodies and distributed their weight to the rest of their feet again.

Yoshi smiled all around and then, without warning, dashed off. The only reason my siblings and I could follow at all was because, as he moved, he made a loud noises, like a deadly wind ripping through all things living and inanimate. None of us could see him, he was invisible. As invisible as Uncle Hiroshi was.

Satoko took the first step; Haruki and I followed right after her, all keeping close to each other as we headed towards the waterfall that hid and protected our village.

At the opening of a large cave which the waterfall covered stood our sensei, waiting patiently for us. He had made himself comfortable, waiting against the cool rock of the wall.

"How long have you been here?" Haruki panted as he wiped sweat from his forehead; Yoshi-sensei shrugged.

"I don't know. A good...fifteen minutes maybe?" he said, smirking a little. Haruki scowled--obviously he thought we had been closer than we had been to our sensei.

"Well, I want you three to sit for a minute, okay? You look tired--already. I'll make sure no one's around to see us come out."

He made a few hand seals which, to my horror, made his eyes come out of their sockets. Then, with another few hand seals, he made a small parting in the water for his eyes to go through. A moment passed in which Satoko, Haruki, and I just watched in an awestruck silence our sensei.

He turned around suddenly, eyes back in place, smiling. "Coast is clear. Let's go."

I eagerly jumped to my feet and ran to the opening which was still in the waterfall.

"Hina, there isn't much point in going through there--you're just going to get wet anyway, when you jump..."

I shrugged and slipped through anyway, falling slowly through the air and into the deep pool of water not too far below. Three other splashed followed mine, indicating that they had all also jumped.

I swam over to the swallow part near the edge and stood. My clothes were heavy with water, making it difficult to move normally. So I trudged out and then watched as the others also had trouble. Not only with getting out, but with just the water--Haruki was choking on it and ended up spitting it out on Yoshi, who growled and splashed even more on my brother.

"I'm finally gone," I giggled happily.

* * *

**a/n was it good? I'm not all that sure what I'm going to be doing next, so it might take a little while for the next chapter to come out. I hope you all have enough patience to wait. in the meantime, maybe feedback will give me some inspiration? I don't know if it will but, it's worth a shot. oh, and just in case you didn't catch that, that was my lame way of asking for people to review. anyway! I'll talk to you all later! toodles!**


	4. Part Three

**a/n okay! third chapter finally here! I know I have like no fans of this story, but whatever. I'm going to continue to update. and if you DO read this story, I'd relaly appreciate it if you'd review to tell em what you think. it takes like, a minute if you know what you wnat to say. and I accept anonymous reviews.

* * *

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I've Got No _Strings_

**Chapter Three--Run**

**----**

"Hina! Hina, let's stop!" Haruki choked as he stumbled onward, barely able to keep moving. But he pushed forward, running onward.

I said nothing, just dropped to a branch lower down, still darting forward. Satoko and Haruki were panting heavily--but not as heavy as I was. Only Uncle Hiroshi knew that I was struggling not to drop down dead.

"Hey! Hina!" Yoshi-sensei shouted over the winds being made. He had no trouble catching up with me, and he showed no trouble breathing. "Slow down! Your siblings need a rest, and I'm sure you need one as well!"

I grunted something but would not turn to look at him; I wouldn't make any sign that I had heard what he had said.

"Hina! Stop being selfish and let's go rest! We covered a lot of ground today, and it's time for a break!" Sensei snapped. It was the first time I had ever really heard him get angry. Hesitantly, I slowed myself. I purposefully hid all signs of exhaustion from my face, and tried to appear relaxed, though I didn't think I pulled it off too well.

"I understand that you want to prove yourself, Hina," Yoshi whispered just loud enough so that I could hear it as we continued moving, "but there is no point in exhausting yourself while attempting to do so. And you **definitely** shouldn't take others down with you. Is that understood?"

"Yes Sensei," I murmured and came to a complete stop, just barely catching my balance as I came to a halt on the tree branch. My feet felt like they were made of rubber and they were going to slip out from under me any minute. I began lowering myself so that I could sit, but a chilling voice stopped me.

_Weak. Stand straight, girl. That is if you wish to pretend you aren't a weakling. _

Uncle Hiroshi.

""Im not a weakling," I whispered as I straightened myself, locking my knees tight so that they wouldn't tremble.

A look of surprise came over Sensei's face as he looked over at me. "Hina, I _never_ said you were weak," he said gently, placing one large hand on my frail shoulders. "All I said that when proving yourself you have to be careful not to pass out--or make others pass out. I do hope you didn't misunders--"

"I know Yoshi-sensei. I was just...talking to **myself**, I _guess_."

"Oh! Um...alright-y then!" Yoshi beamed a grin not to be trifled with and then turned around. "Come on you pansies! Hurry up!"

Satoko stopped dead in her tracks and just stared at Sensei with a blank expression on her face. Even though she stood a good ten feet away, the look on her face was _very_ clear. "_Pansies_?" she finally managed to say weakly while beside her Haruki was still attempting to construct sentences in his mind, which was in a fury at being called a name that suggested fragility.

I looked over my shoulder at my siblings, a small smile twitching at my lips.

And if Sensei, Satoko, and I weren't already sure about his agitated state, his next sentence made it quite evident. "_Us_?! **Pansies**?! Are you being serious?! It isn't OUR fault that Hina decided to dash off full speed out of the **blue**! It isn't our fault that she wouldn't let us stop for a whole _**three hours**_! And it is definitely not _our_ fault that she felt--OUCH! Satoko, what the heck was that for?!" Haruki stopped mid sentence, rubbing his arm which was gradually becoming more and sorer.

"Just...shut up, would you?" Satoko muttered. I pretended not to notice as her eyes flickered towards me, and I pretended that the look in her eye wasn't there. A look that said she knew what Haruki was going to say--a look that practically **screamed** what it was that he was going to say--_And it is definitely not __our_ fault that she felt the need to prove she isn't weak

And then I wondered if they thought I was weak. I knew everyone else in the village did, but I never bothered to think about Satoko and Haruki.

"Will you let it go already?" Sensei sighed as he examined the stem of a leaf. Briefly he lifted his gaze, allowing his speckled eyes to dart from face to face, finally landing on mine and then lowering back towards the leaf. "Let's go. We _all_ need to rest."

And without warning he was gone. I waited for the other two to catch up and then followed behind them, trying to ignore the coldness that was wrapped around my elbow--Uncle Hiroshi clung onto me during the drops. He said that they gave him headaches, although I didn't understand how they did that, in all honesty.

He had no _head_ to actually even **Ache**.

But it was pointless to argue this fact to him. He'd just retort with some remark that would make me uncomfortable or would make me question things I'd rather not ever think about.

With pure luck, I managed to land flat on my feet after the final drop from branch to ground. Uncle released my arm and distanced himself.

_Bravo, child. Maybe you should try doing that more often, hm? _

"Leave me alone," I whispered, eyes moving to where I heard his voice coming from.

"Um, are you okay Hina?" Haruki cautiously inquired, cocking an eyebrow.

"Of course I am! Just talking to myself again, is all! It's a bad habit I've acquired since I decided to run away! I guess I should try to **stop**." I said the last word with gritted teeth as I once again looked in the direction I believed my uncle to be in.

"Are you sure you're okay, love? You said 'leave me alone.' And well, to be quite honest, that just isn't something people usually say when they're speaking to _themselves_..."

I narrowed my eyes at Satoko as I stared long and hard at her. "I don't like what you're insinuating," I said, only half serious. "Anyway! I'm fine! Just discussing things with myself in my mind--a very common thing with people. Come on. Let's go...find Yoshi-sensei!"

"Whatever you say," Satoko said as she began to set off; Haruki merely shrugged and ran after her, while I walked at a leisurely pace behind my older siblings.

How long ago was it that we had left the village? I couldn't remember exactly how many days, but I remembered it had been quite a few. And I still hadn't decided where it was we were going. Yoshi-sensei probably had somewhere in mind, why else would he have been steering me around when it was _he_ who had said that I could lead and such?

_Hina..._ For once Uncle Hiroshi's voice sounded a bit...frightened, maybe? Or perhaps it was wary, but either way it was an expression I wasnt at all used to.

"What is it?" I sighed.

_I think there's someone--or thing--following us..._

"What gives you that idea?"

_It could be because I'm a ghost, I don't know, _he snarled, _but I hear footsteps. Perhaps it's another ghost, perhaps it's another ninja, or perhaps it's a wild beast thirsty for blood. Honestly, I don't know, and I hardly even **care** I'm already dead--what does it matter to **me**. But if I were you, I'd heed my warning..._

My magenta-ish brown hair fell slightly in my pale eyes as I looked over my shoulder, curious to see if anything was in view. I saw nothing, and I was about to tell my uncle so when I suddenly heard a growl. I gave a start and suddenly began to ran although I felt like I was about to fall flat on my face from all I had already done that day. My throat suddenly felt very dry and my stomach very empty. My legs had turned themselves into jelly, but somehow I still managed to surpass Satoko and Haruki who had managed to get very far ahead of me in the short period of time that we had been in search of our sensei, who was no doubt half-asleep somewhere awaiting our arrival.

That could take forever.

None of us knew the area, or even the direction he had gone.

"Hey! Hina, what's wrong this time?!" Haruki called as he picked up his pace, a grimace making its way onto his face.

"Nothing! I just heard something behind me!"

"So you decided to run?! It would be a harmless creature!" Satoko reasoned, but I dismissed that with a shake of the head.

"No--it definitely wasn't. Besides! I um...like to run!" I lied, and they called me on it.

"You're a pathetic liar!" the two simultaneously said as they came up from behind me; I held back a sigh at seeing how agile the two were.

"I mean just because you've been making us run all day, that doesn't mean that you _enjoy_ it," Haruki said with a grin; it pleased him when he was clever or smart--which wasnt often, if you asked Satoko or Yoshi-sensei.

"Well, you've got a point there onii-chan, but that doesn't really matter when there's something potentially dangerous following you!"

"But, Hina--" Satoko began to oppose, but I grabbed her forearm and dragged her into the shadows; Haruki quickly caught on and followed silently after us.

With baited breath we three siblings watched, hidden behind the trees, as shadow passed by on the ground where we had just been walking--but where was the shadow coming from? There was no person where the shadow was. Just as the shadow disappeared from our view, and Satoko was about to lead Haruki and I back into the light, we all felt hot breath on our necks. I figured they felt it by the looks on their faces--it was the same I had on mine. And we were probably all wondering the same thing--is this the owner of the shadow?

"Boo," came a monotonous voice from behind. That was enough for me--I jumped right out of my skin.

Right before my head hit the large branch I was standing under, my hands, rough, dirty, and callused from the days we had been traveling, grabbed a hold of the rough bark. I quickly pulled myself up onto the branch before I would loose grip age and fall with bleeding hands in a heap on the ground which seemed to be so far below me.

Perched there on the branch, I stared down at the scene which I had previously been a part of; Haruki was frozen, a kunai knife in his hand, while Satoko had stopped mid-hand seal. And Yoshi-sensei...he stared at my two siblings with a giant grin on his face and a twinkle in his eyes.

Slowly he looked up at me and waved. "Sorry for scaring you, Hina!" he called up; a thoughtful expression came over his face. "Although I suppose I scared you the most. These two were preparing themselves for a fight but...now they're kind of frozen in place. Curious, isn't it?"

"Um...yeah, I guess," I called back down, slowly straightening myself until I stood on the branch and stared down at my sensei. My legs were shaking. Whether from fright or because they were still tired, I didn't know. And honestly, I didn't care. I just wanted them to **stop**

_Scaredy Cat. _

"What?" I hissed

_Satoko and Haruki were prepared for an enemy--they were prepared to attack. But you just get scared and jumped to get away. _

"I was startled," I argued through gritted teeth.

_They were too. True, they're frozen now, but at least they didn't jump. And they're probably only that way because they're so shocked that it was Yoshi-sensei there..._

"Shut up," I whispered, staring down at my blue-clad feet.

_Only when you learn to **toughen up**_

"Maybe I could if I didn't feel you **pressuring** me and if you didn't sneer at me every time I "fail" something," I replied in a deadly quiet voice. I looked back up, light eyes flashing. Without warning I jumped back down to the ground, landing beside my sensei flat on both my feet.

"How do you suppose we could get them to snap out of it, do you think?" Yoshi asked me, leaning towards my ear as he said it.

"I've lived with them for twelve years; I know practically everything about them--leave it to me."

So I strolled up to Haruki, rolled up my arm-warmer on my right hand, and gently placed my fingers on my brother's side, under his raised arm. With increasing speed I moved my fingers, until finally Haruki keeled over, grinning and laughing like a little child.

"S-stop it! H-Hina...n-no!" Haruki gasped, trying to fight away my hand with his own free one. When that didn't work he had to also use the one holding the kunai--I quickly retreated but the blade still grazed over my skin. And although it seemed to have not broken the skin, it did. Slowly, blood began to surface.

Haruki's face fell. "Oh jeez, Hina. I'm sorry--I didn't mean to--"

But I cut Haruki off, lifting my hand and grabbing his which he raised to grab my shoulder. "Nothing to worry about. I should have stopped when I was sure you were out of your trance. Now enough of that. We need to wake Satoko up. And you know that takes the both of us, right?"

Haruki snorted in an I-can't-believe-you-doubt-I-know-that way. "Of course. Now which do you want to do, tickle her or play with her hair?"

"I think I'll do the tickling," I replied, eyebrows raised as I stared at him with a look that clearly meant something; Haruki paused and then nodded, moth in the shape of an 'o'.

He understood. That was a good thing.

So with a nod of the head from we, we both started at once. I began with the tickle attack and he began doing funky things with our sister's hair--after taking it down of course.

And immediately, Satoko's dark eyes flew open and she writhed about until she was out of our grasp. Glaring hard at both of us, she snatched her filthy red hair ribbon from Haruki and redid her hair.

Yoshi stared at me as I retook my place beside him. "Is that the only way to do it?" he inquired; I nodded. "So if you _just_ play with Satoko's hair--"

"It won't work," I interrupted. "It has to be tickling **and** hair playing. That's why two people are required."

Yoshi-sensei chuckled, holding a loosely balled fist up to his mouth.

"Anyway! Haruki, Satoko, Hina--I'm sorry I snuck up on all of you like that, but I couldn't avoid the opportunity. What were you all staring at anyway?"

"We saw something odd," Satoko unsurely began.

"Or rather, we didn't see **it**," Haruki added. "It's more like we saw its shadow since...that's all there was."

Satoko nodded in agreement. "And if it wasn't for little Hina here, we wouldn't have even known it was there!" Satoko draped her arm over my shoulders and began giving me a noogie, messing up my already greasy, dirty, and well let's just say it--**messed up** magenta hair.

_Well you wouldn't have either if it wasnt for **me**_, Uncle Hiroshi said smugly; I could feel his gaze on me.

"Well that was a good call, Hina. Who knows what it could have been. Hopefully we don't run across its path again though..."

"Arigato," I muttered, ducking my head down to avoid everyone's gaze.

"Come on--let's get moving again!" Yoshi-sensei exclaimed, but I barley heard them. I could hardly hear the exclamations of agreement made by my siblings.

"Arigato, Uncle," I whispered.

_You're Welcome. _

My eyes bugged out when he said this. Had my uncle just been...POLITE?! I wasnt used to such actions--not in the least. But I kept my mouth shut about it and then just followed after my sensei and comrades.

\//\//\//

Another day had passed, adding onto the list of days we had been gone. I had been informed of how many days we had been gone the day before, and that was thirteen--not including the day we had been in. So now...it was the fifteenth day we would be on the road.

Fun.

I was starting to feel miserable--almost as miserable as I had felt back home. And sadly, I was feeling miserably homesick. Yes, that's right. Sick for home--the place where I had been tormented, teased, and picked on 24/7.

"Ugh," I groaned, putting my hand to my heart and squeezing my eyes shut.

"...are you alright?" Yoshi-sensei inquired, gently laying his hand on my shoulder. I subconsciously shook it off.

"Um, yeah. I'm...good," I whispered, briefly glancing over at the man. But soon enough I was staring back down at my lap where I was holding my hands tightly together.

_Or do I just miss the little love I got? _I wondered _Do I miss...Mom? Why...**now**? _

I felt my sensei's stares on me for a moment before he stood. "I'm going to go scrounge up some food. You keep a watch on Satoko and Haruki. They were really worn out, and they'll be needing some rest. You could use some, too. So please, try."

"I can't sleep," I whispered. Yoshi gave me a sympathetic look and then walked off. I let my head drop down to my chest and brought my knees close to me, breathing heavily for no reason whatsoever.

_Be strong_ Uncle Hiroshi said, as always. The way he put it was demeaning. How my mother had always said it to me, it was so much nicer.

_Light up, my little Hina. Be the most you can be. _She had always said that to me back when I played ninja. Even for a little while during my time in the Academy--but that was before she was murdered.

I stifled a sob at the thought of it. No one--to my knowledge--had ever figured out who had murdered my mother. Uncle Hiroshi probably knew, actually, and I was pretty sure he had mentioned it before. But for the life of me I couldn't confirm it, remember it, or bring myself to ask about it.

A light breeze passed through the area, lifting up my loose hair and whispering in my ears.

_Light up, my little Hina. Light up. _

My eyes bugged out again. Had she followed, too? Just like Uncle?

"Mommy?" I called out just softly enough so that it didn't disturb my brother and sister.

_So you've finally gone insane, huh? I guess **you** need the teasing to live, hm? _

"Ha! You're funny Uncle. But no, I can actually live quite well without it."

_That's...good to hear, I guess. But why are you calling out to your mother? _

And then I snapped. "I miss her, _okay_! I guess you don't understand that emotion though so...ugh, just leave me alone!" I buried my face further down and just sat there, silently crying to myself while Uncle Hiroshi chuckled and then fell silent.

After a while I didn't even know what I had initially been upset about, or if that mystery reason was still the reason I felt myself hurting. It wasn't just because I missed home anymore, and it wasnt because I was lonely. It was something much less obvious than that. So much so that I actually didn't even know myself.

But when Sensei returned with the little bit of food he had managed to gather I quickly hid any previous signs of having been upset and sat up straight.

"Konichiwa Yoshi-sensei! Welcome back!" I grinned, but he could tell I was being a phony.

"Hello little Hina," Yoshi greeted, smiling back; he took a seat beside me and opened up the little sack he stored the food in. "Take only a bit, okay my little faker? Leave the rest for Satoko and Haruki."

"Got it," I mumbled. Everything in there was small, and I grabbed the two smallest. Sensei noticed though and grabbed them both, placing them back in the bag and grabbing me the two largest.

"You need more strength than anyone, although I'm sure you won't admit it. Now after you eat I want you to rest, okay? No excuses. Even if you can't sleep just relax."

"Deal," I agreed as I began to nibble on one of the nuts I had received. Yoshi watched me, smiling his mysterious, twinkling-eye smile at me. Without speaking he brushed my dirty bangs away from my grimy forehead.

"I'll be on guard up in the tree, if you need me. Just give a call and I'll be right down here. If you get the chance, tell the others, too, alright?"

"Gotcha!"

And Yoshi was gone in the blink of an eye. I sighed and leaned back against the trunk of the tree, absently eating away at my food, all thoughts fleeting.

\//\//\//

We were running again by the sixteenth day. It turned out we needed less rest than Sensei thought. After all, all we had done was run. And sure we didn't get much food or rest, but still.

We went from branch to branch, and then to the land, only to go back up to the trees. From the low row of branches I was jumping across, I noticed a stream of something on the ground below us. It was only once we got back down to the ground that I actually got to investigate it, although I had been curious about it since I had first seen it.

Kneeling down beside one pile, I stared at it intently. Just as I thought...

"Yoshi-sensei! Satoko, Haruki! Guys, stop for a minute!"

It was a miracle even ONE of them heard me, but they all did and came right back over to me.

_Well lucky you, you discovered soil_, Uncle sarcastically said, but I cast away his comment.

"What is it?" Satoko unsurely inquired, leaning downward to inspect what I was looking at.

"It's...it's _sand_," I said as the sand I had lifted slowly fell through my fingers. I looked up at my comrades, staring widely as if confused.

"Sand..."

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**a/n okay! so that was it. remember what I said at the top when you look at that 'Submit Review' button and think about not reviewing xD and I know I'm a nag---sorry!**


	5. Part Four

**a/n okay! so finally, I am back with the fourth chapter. I already have plans for the next chapter, but I don't know how long it will be until I update, you see, I made a whole update list for myself. **

**1--Butterfly Prophecy  
2--Song of the Full Moon's **C**hild**  
**3--Cherry Blossom Kiss**  
**4--I've Got No Strings**  
**5--Sunrises**  
**6--maybe the new story.**

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I've Got No _Strings_

**Chapter Four--House**

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"What's sand doing _here_?" Haruki incredulously asked. He lowered his hand and grabbed a pinch-worth of the sand. "This is a forest." 

"When did you figure that out?" Yoshi-sensei sarcastically remarked. He took some of the sand and lowered his face to his hand to inspect it.

Haruki scowled deeply at this comment; Satoko giggled, holding one of her slender hands to her mouth as she did so. It was hard to not notice her eyes flickering towards the silver-haired sensei of ours.

"This doesn't seem normal..." Yoshi-sensei mumbled. He ran a hand through his shaggy hair.

"What was that?" I inquired even though I had heard his words clearly.

_He said it isn't normal, you dunce_ Uncle sneered at me. I ignored him. It had been getting easier as the days passed along, to be quite honest.

"What? Oh, nothing!" Yoshi grinned up at me. "Don't worry your pretty--or silly, in Haruki's case--heads over this. It's just sand. Now let's continue, please?"

The three of us silently agreed and the five of us all moved onward. But no matter what the Jounin we were subordinates to said, we all knew that the sand was suspicious.

\//\//\//

Night grew closer and it seemed like we had gotten no where. Yoshi-sensei suggested that we all walk for a bit since it might be a while until we came upon a safe place to rest.

It was while we were walking that we spotted something me might not have seen if we had been jumping from tree-limb-to-tree-limb.

There was a small house out there in the woods. It wasn't in the best of conditions, and it appeared to be abandoned. However it seemed safe enough to spend the night in.

I tapped my sensei on the shoulder. "Maybe we could stay there?" I suggested

The young man stopped walking and stared in the direction of my finger. His multi-colored eyes seemed glazed over as he stared at the one-story building.

"I suppose we could check it out," he murmured. "Haruki, Satoko-chan! Change of course, just for a little bit. Follow us."

_Don't you think the building looks suspicious?_ Uncle whispered into my ear, sending chills all up my back.

I shook my head. "It just looks empty is all," I whispered back. Haruki cocked an eyebrow at me, having just walked up to my side.

I smiled lightly at my older brother but said nothing to him at all. I couldn't think of an excuse for my mumbling to myself right off the top of my head and had no intention of pushing my brain to do so.

"You three stay here until I say so, alright?" Yoshi-sensei ordered. He looked sternly at each of us. Satoko and I gave a firm nod while Haruki grumbled something inaudible.

It was obvious he wanted to look around at the house, too. Looking over at my sister I noticed an anxious look in her dark eyes. With hands clasped over her chest she stared at our sensei's receding back.

A nighttime breeze came fluttering past. It was an eerie sort of breeze that usually carried fear and unease with it. Satoko bit her lower lip as she glanced over at me.

Maybe Uncle Hiroshi was right. Maybe the house _was_ suspicious.

We three siblings stood stock still for a few moments. I was beginning to feel quite uncomfortable there in the middle of foreign woods. The breeze seemed to be whispering warnings to me. It had the same sort of voice as Uncle usually had when I spoke to him, but it was different. I heard several people speaking...

_Could it be...? Am I hearing ghosts?_

I quickly shooed away the thought. There was no way, **no way** I was hearing other ghosts.

And yet...it felt as if I was.

"That's it!" Haruki suddenly growled, breaking me from my thoughts. "I'm not going to stand here any longer! Satoko, Hina! Come on! Let's go to that house!"

My sister and I eagerly followed after the middle child. I personally wanted to get away from the swirling, dead, crunching leaves and the eerie winds. Satoko, I suspect, was more concerned about what happened to Yoshi-sensei.

As we approached the house, Haruki's hand hovered about the hilt of his sword. Satoko's hand went immediately towards her weapon pouch, hidden beneath the bow of her torn kimono.

I made no move for I had seen something through one of the filthy windows. I candle flame had flickered. Squinting my lavender eyes I noticed silhouettes surrounding the flame; their shadows also showed up on the wall.

I recognized the shape of one of these figures--Sensei.

Cautiously I stepped forward and rapped my knuckles on the breaking front door. With my other hand I grabbed Haruki's wrist and pulled it away from his sword.

It wouldn't be necessary, I was sure.

The door was pulled open suddenly, revealing a hunch-backed old man with a wrinkled face. He smiled up at me for he was shorter than I.

"Well, hello! You must be Yoshi-san's pupils."

"Er, yes we are," I replied uncertainly. "We were just wondering what happened to our sensei."

"Well of course you were! Please, please! Come in! Your sensei has been telling us about your journey. Friendly fellow that one is." And he laughed.

"Yes, he is," Satoko warmly replied.

The three of us squeezed through the doorway and uncomfortably followed the stranger into another room. The room we stopped in was the one I had seen the candle and the figures in.

Including the old man, there were four people whom Satoko, Haruki, and I did not know. There was the old man, an old woman with frizzy gray hair who was presumably his wife, a man with long dark hair tied back in a low ponytail, and a beautiful woman with red-violet hair and large violet eyes.

Yoshi-sensei looked over at us and grinned.

"Hello there! Sorry I forgot to come get you--I got wrapped up in a conversation! Here, let me introduce you to our new hosts!"

"...Hosts?" Haruki slowly asked.

"Yes! We'll be staying here for a day!"

"Or two," the woman with the red-violet hair added.

"Yes. It really depends on how much rest we need." Sensei's multi-colored eyes flickered towards the woman. By just that one glance I knew--and so did Satoko by the looks of it--that it depended on more than just that.

"So anyway! This man here," Yoshi-sensei slapped a hand on the old man's hunched back, "is Daisuke!" Our sensei moved towards the old lady.

"This lovely woman is Daisuke's wife, Etsuyo." Yoshi lifted the withering hand of the woman and gently kissed it.

"Now this _beautiful_ woman is Chikako. She's Daisuke and Etsuyo's daughter, you see. And finally, this young lad is Hideki. He's Chikako's _fianc_." The hint of bitterness in his voice was very obvious when he spat the word.

Chikako stared at Yoshi with her large violet eyes and giggled. Yoshi smirked at her in response.

Hideki was definitely not pleased by their obvious connection. After all, he was the one engaged to the woman!

"So everyone, these are my pupils. This is Haruki, the loudmouth; Hina the..._shy_ one; and this is Satoko, the fierce, independent, protective one. Satoko is oldest, then Haruki, and last Hina."

"It's a pleasure meeting you!" they all said; Chikako's chirpy voice was the loudest.

_Is it just me or is she trying to impress Yoshi?_ Hiroshi whispered in my ear.

I shook my head and hoped he'd understand what I meant by that. I didn't dare reply to him around these strangers, lest they think I was talking to myself or worse, about **them**.

"Please, sit down. Everyone," Chikako invited; Yoshi took the seat beside her and the woman, acting very comfortable considering they just met, snuggled against his arm.

Hideki was _furious_. Daisuke didn't look too pleased either, but he said nothing. However his lips did tighten and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"So...where are you from? Yoshi-san didn't say," Etsuyo inquired as an attempt to stir up conversation.

Haruki opened his mouth to answer, but he stopped when he received a warning look from Sensei and a discreet jam in the ribs from Satoko.

"...Gekkougakure," he hesitantly lied.

"That's very far away, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is."

"The Hidden Village of Moonlight...I've heard many things about that place. Supposedly every hundred years or so the Full Moon blesses a child from that village and he or she becomes the most powerful, admired, and lucky person in the entire village. And several other villages, if I'm not mistaken. Also, they're the most sought after person--for good and bad. Tell me, do any of you know this person?"

I had never heard that story before, to be truthful. Sure we weren't actually from the Hidden Village of Moonlight, but it was supposedly a very famous story. That's what Etsuya-san implied, and it appeared to be true since Yoshi, Haruki, and Satoko were all nodding their heads slowly, showing they knew what the old lady was talking about.

"No, we never did find out who it was. However we do know that there is someone, currently, who can go by that description. A girl, I have heard," Sensei replied.

"Yes, a runaway," Hideki murmured. "I heard so a while ago in the market."

"The market?" Yoshi, startled, inquired.

"Yes. There's one quite a while away. Every so often we send Chikako and Hideki out. It takes so long to get there--about a day and a half--that they shop, go to a hotel to spend the night, and then early the next morning head back. All we can buy, because of the distance, is things which don't need to be preserved," Daisuke explained.

"Have you ever considered...moving closer to a village?" Satoko gently inquired.

The four looked aghast.

"Never!" Etsuyo shrieked.

"What not?" Satoko urged on. "It must be so annoying to have to walk all the way there. And you can't have meat or anything!"

"We survive," Daisuke gruffly replied. His eyes flashed at Satoko and my sister meekly sat back in her seat.

As she did this I slowly stood, a thought entering my head.

"Excuse me, for a moment. I...forgot something outside."

"Yes yes, go ahead and get it! Just be careful, alright?" Yoshi passively permitted.

"Yes, go right on ahead," Chikako added.

"Arigato," I humbly said, bowing low to them.

"Do you want me to come with you? It's dangerous in the woods at night--especially when you're alone," Satoko offered; I shook my head.

"Arigato, but no."

I quickly exited the house and stepped back out into the fresh air. Dark had fallen, and it had fallen hard. I hated that I didn't have a light, but I told myself that my eyes would just have to adjust.

I began walking cautiously through the night, constantly tripping over roots and dead branches which had fallen from trees.

Once I was back on the path we had been walking I felt comfortable. Haruki had been smart enough to, occasionally, scrape the surface of a tree with his kunai. Of course it was also stupid of him because that meant our trail could be followed, but I'm sure he felt we were prepared for anyone and anything.

Eventually I could no longer walk because I was afraid that I'd take too long. I was also frightened. I began to hear odd noises and see things which I normally did not.

And the whispering.

I no longer felt the breeze but the noises--the **voices** it had carried followed me still.

So I began to run. I hadn't realized how far we had gone since we had discovered it earlier that day.

I was paying g for that now, though, let me tell you. My muscles were sore and I was exhausted. I felt dirty and hunger was gnawing at my stomach.

Right when I was getting to the point that I was going to forget about it and turn around to go back, I reached the trail of sand.

Smiling triumphantly to myself I knelt down beside the fine grains. From out of my weaponry pouch I procured a small glass vial. It was narrow and tubular shaped, but rather long for being so small. I lowered my grimy hand down to the sand and scooped some into the vial.

Carefully, I corked it and then, without a final glance at the suspicious sand, I headed back to the house.

\//\//\//

When I arrived everyone was preparing themselves for bed. It seemed that I had missed the meal which had been provided. I was oddly aware at the mention of that how my stomach was growling.

"Let me show you to your room," Chikako offered. She placed her hand on the small of my back and began leading me down a narrow hallway.

I--discreetly--wriggled free of her touch and instead walked slightly behind the young woman.

"Here. You will be sharing your room with Satoko. I hope you don't mind sharing a room?"

"No, not at all!" I replied, relieved that it was only my sister I'd be in there with.

"This was my old bedroom. I sometimes still sleep in there, when Hideki is annoying me...oh I'm sorry! I shouldnt be bothering you with such trivial information!

"Now your brother and sensei will be sharing a room down at the end of the hall, opposite side as yours. Across the hall is where my parents sleep, and across from Yoshi and Haruki-san's is where Hideki and I sleep. If you need anything from anyone just say so, alright?"

I nodded slowly. "Got it. Thank you, Chikako-san."

The woman smiled gently at me, placing a slender hand on my shoulder. "Please, just call me Chikako."

And then she walked away. I shivered. It wasn't that the woman gave me the creeps or anything of the sort, to the contrary she made me feel almost comfortable, but I didn't like being touched.

I dropped everything I could on the floor beside Satoko's stuff and stepped back out into the hall.

I found Hideki sitting on the sofa where I had last seen him before I left. He appeared to be distressed.

I tried avoiding eye contact with the older man as I fell back in one of the worn-out armchairs.

I began to think of things as I sat there in the eerie house. I thought of home, I thought of where we were headed, although I wasn't sure where exactly that was. I mean, I was supposed to decide but I never did, and Yoshi-sensei seemed to have his own ideas.

"Hey, Hina-san?"

Startled by the sudden sound of another being's voice, I jumped. However it was only Hideki, and I fell back again, calmed.

"Hai, Hideki-san?"

"...does your sensei...have a girlfriend or anything?"

I didn't even have to think before replying with a shake of the head. "No, he doesn't."

"Is he honestly aware, then, that I am Chikako's husband-to-be? Sure _he_ isnt being unfaithful, but what about Chikako?"

"I wouldn't know what's going through my sensei's head, sir."

Hideki's smile was a bitter one.

"Yes, yes. I apologize Hina-san. Please, allow me to get you something to eat. Your stomach's growling quite loudly."

I blushed. "Arigato, Hideki-san."

Hideki extended his hand to me after standing, to help pull me up, but I declined. Instead I struggled to get out of the chair and uneasily followed the young man to the kitchen.

It was a cold meal, the one he served to me, but it would do fine.

I felt uneasy as I ate. Hideki watched me, seemingly curious. I didn't honestly understand what he had to be curious about. That was probably why I felt so uncomfortable.

Occasionally I'd glance upward and my lavender eyes would meet his sharp gaze. I didn't like the look on his face so I would stare back down at the mush I had been served.

"Hina-san...how old are you?"

"I am twelve, sir. And you?"

"Twenty-five," he said regretfully.

"How long have you been engaged to Chikako-san?"

"...About four years, I believe."

"When are you getting married?"

"A month after she turns twenty...if we're still together then. I don't know how much more I can take of her...infidelity."

_They keep telling me things I don't need to know..._

"Yoshi isnt the first person she's acted this way about. However, he _is_ the first person she honestly seemed to like, and also the only one who didn't seem to care that she's engaged."

_Are you getting uncomfortable, Hina? I know I am, and I'm not even the one who this man is...**hitting on**_.

"Ew, no," I muttered in response.

"I'm sorry?" Hideki said, implying he hadnt really heard what Id said.

"Oh, nothing. I just...saw a dead bug...so anyway! How old is Chikako-san?"

"Nineteen. But enough about _her_. Tell me about you. You know you remind me of her..."

I cocked an eyebrow. "How so?"

"You look like her, only your hair is lighter as are your eyes. You're very pretty..."

"Um...thanks. I'm tired, and I think we're leaving early in the morning. Thanks for the food and...goodnight."

I hurried back to the room I shared with Satoko and closed the door. I sat down on the mat which had been set up for me and, quietly since my older sister was asleep, said to Uncle.

"Is he kidding?! Me, pretty?! And anyway, he definitely was **not** hitting on me, as you so nicely put it."

_If you wish to think that, go ahead. But you didnt see the eyes..._

He was just complaining about Chikako-san...he wouldnt do the exact same thing."

_Think what you wish..._

After that he said no more. I quickly changed into nightclothes and made myself as comfortable as possible under the covers.

"I'm not pretty," I whispered to myself, glancing over at my sleeping sister. "Chikako-san is, and so is Satoko...but I'm not."

And then I fell asleep, feeling rather self-conscious about the compliment. Little did I know that I would be receiving several more like them in the not too distant future.

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**a/n was it any good, do you think? anyway, please leave a review. I want to know what people think of this so far. I mean, I know I like it and so do people on quizilla, but yeah. Fanfiction is sooo much different from quizilla. the people and the layout... anyway, if you could just take the time that would be nice. anyway, see you next time!**


	6. Part Five

**a/n okay, so it's been a while. SORRY!!! I haven't been in the mood-Naruto is more of a fall thing for me. actually every season but summer thing--but now I am in it, though I ca't guarantee it will last.**

**here's chapter five!**

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I've Got No _Strings_

**Chapter Five--Poison  
**

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**

"Hina. Hina, wake up," a female voice whispered in my ear early in the morning. Slowly, my eyelids flickered open and I found myself staring into my older sister's dark eyes.

"Hey sleeping beauty," she greeted, smiling slightly. "Come get dressed. Breakfast will be served soon, and I'm hungry."

"Ugh," I grunted in response. Carelessly I threw the covers off of me and got to my feet. My backpack was sitting in the corner; I stumbled towards it and began rummaging around for my clothes. But they weren't there. Panicked, I instinctively began tearing the room apart. I needed my clothes! I couldn't just walk out there in my pajamas, and I most certainly couldn't travel in them!

"Hina. Hin-HINA!" Satoko half-shouted. I looked over my shoulder and saw her standing behind me, a blank expression on her face, my clothes folded neatly in her hands.

"How did you--?"

"Etsuyo-san washed them early this morning," Satoko interrupted, smiling kindly at me. "They're already dry, too. Here." And she deposited them into my outstretched hands.

"Arigato," I whispered as my older sister turned around, giving me as much privacy as she could so that I could change without getting to self-conscious.

After a few minutes Satoko glanced over her shoulder at me. "You ready?" she asked.

"Almost," I replied, smoothing down the front of my shirt. I bent down and reached into my bag for my forehead protector. Before I could even pull it all the way out though, Satoko stopped me.

"Don't put it on," she whispered, suddenly kneeling beside me.

"Nani?"

"_Don't-put-it-on_," Satoko repeated, burying it beneath some other junk in my pack. "Yoshi-sensei said not to. We told them we were from Gekkougakure yesterday, and who knows whether or not they know the signs of the villages. If they do, they'll know we've lied, and that wouldn't be good."

"Alright. But what if they saw it yesterday?" I inquired in a low voice, zipping my backpack closed.

Satoko shrugged. "Then we can tell them it was a mistake. It's easier to prove them wrong if they've only seen it once. Now come on. I think I hear dishes clattering."

Satoko pulled me to my feet and pulled me along after her as she moved down the hall where everyone else had already gathered for breakfast.

"Good morning Hina-san! Good to see you're up!" the old woman greeted. When she smiled her face was so filled with wrinkles it looked as if someone had crumpled it up as they would a piece of paper. "You two are just in time for breakfast. Please, come; sit down."

"Thank you, Etsuyo-san," Satoko politely said. "What did you make?"

"Apples with hot butter and cinnamon," the old lady replied. "Please; sit," she insisted. Satoko moved forward and took a seat on the empty couch. I awkwardly followed suit.

"Thank you for cleaning my clothes, Etsuyo-san," I squeaked, remembering my manners. "That was very kind of you."

"You are quite welcome. Now here. Eat up," Etsuyo said in her crackly voice. She handed first Satoko, and then Hina, a plate of breakfast.

_It really does look appetizing_, Hina said to herself, staring at the full plate. The apples were peeled and coated completely in butter and ground cinnamon. Etsuyo came back around before either Satoko or Hina could touch the dish and sprinkled a load of sugar on.

"Eat, please. You three are just skin and bone!" the woman shrieked and then bustled off to go eat her breakfast in the kitchen.

It was only then that I noticed Haruki had taken a seta beside me on the couch. He grinned through a mouthful of apples at me and then got back to work on chewing the delicious breakfast that had been prepared for us.

Satoko also seemed to have forgotten all of her manners and was practically stuffing her face in the plate. It had to be just as appetizing as it looked then, if even Satoko was being a pig about it.

Carefully, I poked my fork into one of the apples and put it in my mouth. It was, to put it simply, delightful. I had never tasted anything quite like it, though that wasn't saying much considering I ate practically the same thing every day.

"Good, isn't it?"

Yoshi-sense stuck his head between Satoko's and mine, grinning. "Chikako helped make it."

"Well...she did a good job," Satoko choked, glancing over at our sensei, an unreadable look in her dark eyes.

"Well, I think I'm going to go have more!" Yoshi declared, straightening up. "If you guys want anymore, you're going to have to come quick. It's going fast!" He glanced down at our plates. "You've barely touched yours, Hina. Unless those _Are_ your seconds?"

I shook my head.

"Well, eat up. As Etsuyo-san said, you're skin and bone!"

And with that, our white-haired sensei bounded back to the kitchen to get some more and I quickly began to eat. Haruki soon got up and joined Yoshi-sensei and the other sin the kitchen.

Satoko, on the other hand, looked disdainfully at her plate half-full of apples. "I'm not hungry!" she announced, and stood to go deliver the food to the kitchen, where someone would no-doubt eat it.

I didn't like being left alone; it gave me the creeps, especially while in the house. There was something eerie about the place and its inhabitants. I didn't really want to be around long enough to learn what it was, either.

_I hope we leave soon, _I said, taking another bite of apple. _I want to get to wherever we're headed fast. _

And secretly I hoped that along the way, I'd find out the secret of that odd sand that I had found the day before...

\//\//\//

"Please, we _want_ to help out around the house!" Satoko begged Etsuyo late that morning. She was bored and she needed something to do, and seeing as there was no place for her to train, helping out was the only other option. She hadn't brought any form of entertainment, not anticipating that she'd need it.

"You need rest," Etsuyo-san insisted, pushing Satoko's shoulders until she sat down. "Please. Chikako and I will take care of everything."

She smiled at Satoko and I, showing of her teeth--and lack there of. There were so many gaps in her mouth that I wasn't sure whether there were more teeth or holes.

"But--" Satoko sputtered; I had never before seen her so desperate about cleaning.

"Please, just rest."

"But you put Haruki out to work!" Satoko argued.

Etsuyo-san smiled again. "Yes, we did, you got me there." The old woman sighed. "Alright, if you insist upon it."

"Arigato, Etsuyo-san!" Satoko gasped. She jumped to her feet and ran off to find Chikako so she'd know what to do.

"And you, Hina-san? Would you rather rest or clean?"

I felt rather awkward. To be honest, I'd prefer leaving, but seeing as that wasn't happening, I'd like to rest. However, it would be wrong for me to be the only one not working. Sighing heavily, I said, "I'll work." Besides, with Satoko working, _I_ was left bored as well.

"Go find Chikako then. She'll tell you what needs to be done."

Ever the obedient child, I did as I was told and ran off after Satoko to find the young woman.

"Satoko? Satoko, what's wrong?" I asked, coming to a sudden halt. Satoko stood, frozen stiff, outside the doorway I knew to be Yoshi-sensei's. Slowly, she turned to look at me, her eyes as big as saucers, and her face paler than usual.

"Satoko-nee-chan?" I whispered, worried.

It was then I saw the tears welling up in her eyes. She opened her mouth to croak something out, but nothing would come.

"I'm going to see if I can help out outside," she eventually managed to say, hoarse. Stiffly then, she walked away, and I took her place in the doorway.

Yoshi-sensei and Chikako were laying on sensei-s covers, asleep, the woman's head on his lap.

"Why does that upset her so much?" I whispered.

_"You sure are oblivious, aren't you?_ Uncle Hiroshi sighed; I gave a start, having forgotten about him.

"What do you mean?" I whispered, pushing a stray hair from my face.

_"Figure it out yourself. You aren't completely helpless."_

I frowned. He was always so sarcastic, and usually unhelpful, and I didn't appreciate it. I really only talked to him when I was desperate about something, anyway, unless he spoke to me first.

"Well I'm sure she isn't upset about Chikako being asleep. She doesn't really want to clean _that_ much!"

"_Just...think about it, and in the mean time go ask the old lady what to do._"

Glaring at where his voice came from, I headed back down the hallway to where Etsuyo-san was, rubbing the worn coffee table with an old rag.

"Satoko-san tells me that Chikako and your sensei are asleep in his room," she said disapprovingly. The way she stared at me with her small eyes, it was as if she believed it was **my** fault. "This isn't the first time such a thing has happened. Chikako doesn't seem to understand that she's _engaged_ to Hideki. I'll go wake her. In the meantime, you can start cleaning the kitchen."

The old woman handed me a bucket, a rag, and a sponge. "You can fill the bucket with water outside, and there's soap in the kitchen."

"Okay," I replied, smiling slightly. "But where's Satoko-nee-chan?"

"Your sister is outside working with your brother and Daisuke-san."

"Thank you," I said softly, bowing slightly to the older woman. Then, with the cleaning equipment in my hands, I hurried outside.

\//\//\//

"I don't like that Yoshi guy," growled the old man. "He seems too..." But he couldn't find quite the right words to describe the young ninja.

"Neither do I," the younger man, Hideki, agreed. "Have you seen how he is with Chikako, _my_ fiance?"

"Aye," growled the old man, Daisuke. "And I don't like how she looks at him either."

"Nor do I."

I peeked around the corner to get a better look at how close they were to me, my heart beating wildly in my chest. For some reason I didn't think I should be hearing this conversation at the watering hole.

"So, what do you propose we do about it?" Hideki whispered, leaning closer to Daisuke.

The old man shrugged. "I say we get them out of here tonight. Chikako will get over him, just like she's gotten over the other guys."

"Oh, yes. Of course. That's the...sensible thing to do," Hideki agreed, though it was obvious by his tone that he wanted to do something else.

"I'll feel bad kicking those kids out though," Daisuke said in his gravelly voice. "They seem awfully nice."

"Get the feeling they aren't being completely honest though?"

Daisuke gave the younger man an odd look. "No, I don't. Now come on. Let's get back to work."

My heart rate increased. I rushed away so that it wasn't as if I could hear and then slowly made my way back, passing them on the way.

"Konichiwa Daisuke-san; Hideki-san." I bowed.

"Konichiwa," Daisuke grumbled.

"Hello Hina-san," Hideki said, smiling. I didn't like his smile; it wasn't honest.

I smiled nervously at the two men then hurried to the watering hole to fill my bucket.

\//\//\//

Hideki walked back into the kitchen after being forced to wake Yoshi and Chikako, a bitter expression on his hard face.

"Sleep well?" he asked Yoshi-sensei stiffly, who was following him.

"Yes," Yoshi-sensei yawned. He spotted me at the small counter space, scrubbing away, and flashed me a small smile; I sent an unsure one back.

"I'm sure you'd like something to drink?"

Yoshi-sensei shrugged. "I **am** thirsty," he reasoned.

"Please, sit then."

Yoshi-sensei took a seat at the small table that sat in the middle of the kitchen and stared at his gloved hands. I glanced at him, then at Hideki-san, who was smiling maliciously as he poured a thick, brown liquid out of a wooden jug.

"Here you go, Yoshi-san," he said quietly, sliding the small glass across the table at him.

Yoshi-sensei either saw the worry in my eyes when he looked at me, or he was suspicious himself, because he sniffed at the liquid and said, "What is this?"

"A family recipe. Etsuyo-san made it fresh yesterday," Hideki said with a smile. "Try it; it really is quite excellent."

Yoshi-sensei seemed to calm when he heard Etsuyo made it, but I was still suspicious. I didn't trust Hideki. There was something about him that was dishonest, that was vengeful, that he had it out for Yoshi-sensei.

Yoshi picked up the small glass and gulped it down in one swallow. Satisfied, he placed it back on the table, wiped his upper lip, and said, "Thank you, Hideki-san," to the young man with the ponytail.

"You are quite welcome," Hideki said quietly in reply. He grabbed Yoshi-sensei's empty glass and placed it in the sink.

"I'm going to go work now," Yoshi declared, standing. "Thanks again for the refreshment."

And with that, he was gone.

A moment later, Hideki walked out, too, leaving me alone with Uncle.

_"What do you suppose that really was?"_ Uncle whispered in my ear, sending shivers up my spine.

I ignored him, however, and continued scrubbing at the counter. I had learned long ago not to go snooping about where it wasnt my business. People in my village, though friendly to most people, liked their privacy, and didn't appreciate people poking around; me being me, they tolerated it even less when I did it. My father had to punish me on behalf of the townspeople, and since then I had learned to keep my nose out of other people's business.

_"Go on; take a look,"_ Uncle Hiroshi pushed. _"You're cleaning in here anyway! Come one!"_

"Why don't you look if you're so interested?" I snapped after ten minutes of this.

But before he could reply, Haruki rushed into the house from outside, wiping sweat from his brow and panting heavily.

I emerged from the tiny kitchen, curious.

"Haruki-nii-chan, what's wrong?" I asked weakly, fearing the worst.

Chikako, Hideki, and Etsuyo had all assembled around Haruki as well, curious.

"It's Yoshi-sensei!" he finally managed to get out. "He's collapsed!"

As everyone else hurried back outside to where he had been working, I slipped back into the kitchen, my suspicions aroused again, and checked the bottle.

What I saw shocked me. The bottle slipped from my hand and crashed. The wood, which had been old, smashed and the brown liquid oozed everywhere.

_"What was it? What did it say?"_ Uncle Hiroshi's ghost asked urgently.

"Poison..."

\//\//\//

"His pulse is low!" Chikako-san sobbed, burying her face in her mother's shoulder.

"What happened?" Satoko croaked, tears welling in her wide eyes again.

Haruki shook his head. "I don't know. He was just pulling weeds out of the..._garden_," at this my brother cast a glance at the large square filled with weeds and dying plants, "and he suddenly collapsed."

"Aye," Daisuke said, nodding solemnly.

"We have to get him help!" Satoko exclaimed, brushing his silver hair out of his calm face.

"Aye," Daisuke said yet again.

"I'll go!" Haruki offered.

"You don't know your way."

"I'll _find_ my way into town!" Haruki growled. "Unless someone wants to come with me."

"I will," Hideki quietly offered.

"No, you bets stay here. Comfort Chikako," Etsuyo said firmly. "Daisuke..."

"Will you be able to keep up?" Haruki asked incredulously.

Daisuke glared at Haruki. "I'm not as out of shape as you'd think," he growled. "Now enough chit-chat. Let's get going!"

A moment later, Haruki and Daisuke were off with Yoshi-sensei in their arms.

"Let's get back inside now," Etsuyo ordered. She guided the sobbing Chikako into the house with Hideki's help.

Satoko looked stricken as she stiffly followed along behind.

"You don't think he'll..._die_, do you?" she croaked, staring at me with her saucer-sized eyes.

"No, no of course not!" I assured her, though I wasnt exactly sure myself. I didn't know Yoshi-sensei very well, but I didn't want him to die. I hated death, and by the look on Satoko-nee-chan's face, I think she'd break if he did, which would make me hurt, and I couldn't deal with any more of that. Besides, Satoko was one of the only people that I felt close too, and I wouldn't be able to deal with that...

_"Stop thinking; you look stupider than usual"_, Hiroshi sneered.

I glared at him then stepped into the house, where I found Hideki staring at the kitchen floor.

"What happened here?" he hissed; the way he stared at me was much different than it had been the night before.

"It...fell off the counter," I stuttered, avoiding his gaze.

"You know," he said, more to himself than me. "You _know_."

"Know what?"

"Follow me," he ordered curtly. I made no move to follow, afraid.

"_Follow_," he ordered, grabbing my sleeve. I was pulled all the way down the hall and pushed into his bedroom, which he promptly closed the door to.

"Do you know?"

"Know what?" I snapped.

"What was in the bottle," Hideki hissed.

"Yes, I know!" I snapped. "It was poison, poison! **You** did that to Yoshi-sensei!"

It was then that I realized that the door had been opened, and Satoko stood in it. She chose the _best_ moments to appear.

"Wh-what?" she stuttered.

Hideki whirled around and stared at Satoko, who was paralyzed to the spot.

"Get in!" he hissed.

Satoko absently obeyed, and the door was closed behind her.

"You two--sit!" he barked, pointing at the floor.

Satoko, in a trance, sat down beside me. I turned my head to stare at her, then suddenly there was a pain in the back of my head and everything went black.

* * *

**a/n oooooooooooooooooh!! what happened, do you think? agh, so mysterious! OOOH. lol. soryr. anyway, hope you enjoyedz! I'm goign to go out up the fourth Sunrises. don't know when I'll update again, but please don't punish me by not reviewing! I lvoe to know what my readers think. **


	7. Part Six

_I've Got no Strings  
_Chapter Six--Slaves

--

My head was pounding; I couldn't think properly; it was dark; I was cold. All these things hit me at once as I opened up my eyes. I was in an unfamiliar place--a place that smelt bad and didn't look much better. I slowly reached out my hand to touch the wall. It was dirt, and it was moist.

"Oh, yuck!" I exclaimed under my breath, wiping my soiled hand on the canvas bag I sat on.

"Hina? Is that you?" a familiar voice whispered. I looked over to the side where the voice came from and blinked until my eyes focused to the darkness. There sat Satoko, bound with rope just as I was. Her usually tidy black hair was sticking up on all ends, her ribbon having almost fallen out. Her face and clothes were filthy with dirt. I wondered if I looked the same way.

"Yup, it's me, Satoko," I croaked back.

"What _happened_?" she wondered; her voice was so distant, I had to wonder if she was alright. Usually Satoko was so focused and her voice showed it.

It freaked me out.

"I'm..."I began, but then stopped. No, I did remember. Satoko had overheard Hideki admitting that he had poisoned Yoshi-sensei. After that...we were hit over the head, and everything went black. I had awoken a while later and felt myself moving. When I had peeked through one of the small holes in the bag I saw trees whizzing past, and up ahead were people clad totally in green. Only one other was carrying a bag.

Then I had gone back to sleep and woken up here, in this...underground _place_.

"No!" Satoko gasped when I told her all of this; I nodded grimly.

"That's what happened, nee-chan."

"He **did** seem a bit..._off_," Satoko struggled to admit. "Well, okay. Maybe more than a **bit**."

I gave a short nod of agreement and then turned to stare at the dirt wall opposite me. It was so care away, I noticed. It was all so...spaced out. I glanced around and noticed that people broke into a sweat just walking the curve in the circle room.

_Any idea where we are? _, Uncle asked. I felt his presence beside me and shivered. It was cold enough down here as it was without a mean, spiteful ghost making me shiver. I wouldn't mind so much if he was, like my mom, a warm ghost; a ghost that sought no revenge or had any hard feelings or hate.

But Uncle Hiroshi wasn't like that. He just _wasn't_.

"No clue. Does Hideki run it?" I asked in reply, careful not too move my mouth too much. I could feel Satoko's dark eyes watching me, searching for the reassurance of a familiar face. It was odd. She was the strong one. _She_ was the one who was supposed to tell **me** everything would be alright. It wasn't supposed to be like this. I wasnt supposed to feel worse than usual about being completely clueless and of no use.

How could she expect me to be the stronger person? She knew better than anyone who I was; how I acted.

_"I think it's a trade of some sort. An auction..."_ Uncle replied slowly. _"I'm seeing a lot of people and they're all asking how much something would be worth."_

"If that's so," I began carefully, avoiding my sister's gaze, "why are we tied up?"

_"Maybe they're afraid youd steal something? _" Uncle Hiroshi suggested. When did he get so...stupid? They wouldn't bring us to this place just so they could tie us up so we wouldn't steal anything...whoever 'they' was.

And I told him so.

_"Well that's the first time I've ever seen you use your brain, I think. Good job."_

You could trust Uncle Hiroshi to turn even a compliment into something nasty. I heaved a sigh and said nothing. I was tired, and my head was throbbing.

"Hina?" Satoko whispered, doing her best to crawl close to me. It wasn't easy when your legs were tied together and sever placed and your arms were tied to your side. It was difficult enough lifting a hand.

"Where are we?" she whispered urgently.

"I...I don't know," I replied hesitantly, my lavender eyes darting around. My eyes had adjusted to the dim lighting, but it was still dark and near impossible to see anything. I could see people walking around, dragging long ropes--or something--behind them.

"I'm scared," she confided. Her dark eyes were wide with terror, and I felt myself quiver inside. Satoko was scared--I already knew that. But still, here she was _admitting_ it. That meant that she was frightened to death.

What hope did I have? What hope did **I**, the weak, defenseless, useless piece of _trash_, have, when my strong, brave, audacious sister was so scared she would actually admit it?

The answer: none.

No, less than none.

"Hina? Hina, did you hear me?"

I shook my head.

"I said, what do you think we should do?"

I froze. She was asking me? I...I didn't get that. No one _ever_ asked me. I was just supposed to fulfill tasks--"if I could manage to do that much," the person assigning it would always add with a sneer. Well I wasnt the only one surprised by this. In fact I probably would have fallen into a coma if I had been. Uncle Hiroshi just had to have his two-cents worth thrown in.

_"Oh, dear. Why would she ask you? She's the one who could actually...succeed with something."_

"Just shut up!" I snapped, suddenly angry. I rarely felt this way. I mean, sure, I usually felt worthless, but it was never usually this bad. You'd think Satoko asking me would prove something, but it didn't. And Uncle's comments were making me angry. What did he know?! He never gave me a chance! He just decided, _Hey, let's kill her. That will solve everyone's problems! _.

"...Excuse me?" Satoko asked, looking offended.

"Oh, sorry," I grumbled sheepishly. "I was...talking to myself."

_"You'd better hope you were,"_ Uncle growled. _"You have absolutely **no right** to tell me what to do!"_

I ignored him and turned to Satoko silently.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Well what are we going to **do**?"

"Why would you ask me?! I'm just here to serve. I have no right to give ideas, opinions, or anything," I whispered, my face bright red. "You should know that better than anyone, shouldn't you? You're my sister."

Satoko's face filled with hurt. "I never said that," she breathed, dark eyes swimming. "I _never_ said that. **Never**! You know I don't think that...don't you?" Her voice was small and trembling. For a minute, I saw her as the little child again, her raven-black hair up in pig-tails, a solemn look on her face as she concentrated.

"You never had to."

"Hina! Hina, I _never_, and I mean, **never** even thought such a thing! You were always worth something to me! You're my little sister!" She gave me a weak smile.

I didn't say anything. I felt suddenly very cold inside. I glanced over to where I heard Uncle whispering to myself and frowned.

_"What's gotten into **you**?"_ was all he said; I shook my head.

"Hina? Hina-chan? What's gotten into you?" Satoko asked. My eyes widened and I slowly looked towards her. Concern was all over her face, and she actually cared, unlike Uncle. But still...what a coincidence!

"Nothing."

"Why are you mad at me?" she persisted. "What did I _do_? Have I ever acted...have I ever acted like I thought you were worthless before? Because I'm sorry! But right now I think we should be worrying about something else. So stop wallowing in self pity and let's figure out where we are and how we get out of here!" Satoko snapped, suddenly very angry.

"Get out?" A cold, unfamiliar voice inquired. The question was followed by a bitter laugh. Satoko and I both involuntarily shuddered. "No, no. Neither of you are 'getting out'. Not without being sold, that is."

"Sold?" I blinked.

"Yes, sold!" the person impatiently repeated. "You see, you have been brought to my little year-round slave auction. Fun, don't you think?"

I blinked again.

"The auction will be starting in a few hours. I'll make sure you two get cleaned up. You'll want to look nice for the customer's, right?"

And he walked off, his white teeth glistening by some unknown light. I hadn't seen his face at all through the dark, but his hair was an iridescent shade of red.

I looked over at Satoko, who was staring at me in return. At the same time, we exclaimed in hoarse whispers, "_Slaves_?!"

_"Well this isn't good"_, Uncle Hiroshi said disapprovingly.

"It's **horrible**," I corrected; Satoko nodded in agreement.

"I hear you," she said solemnly.

_But you don't hear Uncle, _I thought. _Lucky! _

"What will we do?" I whispered.

Satoko smirked. "Yes, _we_. You can do just as much as me, just...in different things. Now let's think!"

\\/\\/\\/

We didn't get much chance to think, but what we came up with I thought was pretty good. And Satoko listened. She _listened_ to my ideas. I don't know why I thought she wouldn't. She was my sister! Out of all the people I knew, she treated me best of all, closely followed, of course, by Haruki.

Before we had even finished collaborating on the matter before two middle aged ladies with wrinkled face and hands came over and told us it was time to 'get ready'.

Satoko and I exchanged frightened glances, but we couldn't say anything to each other. The woman carted us off in different directions and we were forced to bathe and dress in this little public bathing area. I felt extremely self-conscious as I peeled off my clothes and stepped into the luke-warm water. It wasn't as if I had a choice whether or not to do it. The people guarding the area were wearing these horrid scowls and were holding whips--not to mention the swords at their sides.

Plus all my weapons had been left back at the little hut in the woods. And I didn't want to give away the fact that I was a ninja just yet. That was part of the plan Satoko and I had come up with.

So I ignored the people staring at me as I submerged into the murky water. I had to admit that it felt good to wash away all the dirt and filth that had collected on my skin. If only I could have done it in privacy I could be almost happy.

As soon as I was done, the lady who had escorted me to the bath thrust forward a _short_ dress. The midriff area was completely bare, except for a strip of fabric on either side. The sleeves were long and bell-shaped, which I liked, but there were no shoulders, which, combined with the bare-midriff, would cause me to die of mortification. I did, however like the color of the dress: a deep pink.

"You expect me to wear _that_?" I choked.

"It's this or you go up as you are now," the woman replied, sniggering. I looked down at myself and my face flamed up.

This it is!" I exclaimed, settling the manner.

"I thought so. Get changed--quickly."

I hurriedly the underwear she handed me back on and then slid into the mini dress with ease. "Am I ready?" I asked, refusing to look at any part of me that was showing bare skin. I also refused to listen to the whistling from the males in another nearby area.

"Pervs," I mumbled.

_"I agree,"_ said my uncle. I thought I'd go into an early grave. Not only because he agreed with me, but also because he was **there** in my section.

"Look who's talking. How long have you been there?"

_"I just came back, actually,"_ my uncle huffed. _"Seriously, you thought I'd hang around and watch you bathe? I'm not **sick**, Hina."_

"Time for hair, now!"

"My _hair_?" I repeated. "Why do we have to look nice to be sold, anyway?"

The woman sighed. "There's more appeal in someone's who's dressed up. But, we also choose clothes that show off a person's...err...muscle, to prove that they know how to work."

I looked down at myself. I supposed that I did have muscular legs, and a muscled stomach--not to the point of looking like a body-builder, of course, but still--and my shoulders were...okay. But you'd think that they'd try to choose something a little less revealing!

The woman smiled harshly, as if reading my mind. "I don't run this--_he_ does," she said cynically. "And he likes seeing girls in clothes like this."

A horrified look froze on my face, and she laughed.

"Don't worry. He's not an old guy, like me. He's probably seventeen. No one knows for sure. He doesn't talk about himself much."

Still, I shuddered. I wanted more than ever to be out of there and talking to Satoko. We needed a way to get our plan into action.

Satoko sent me a pained look from across the room, and I sent one back. I wish I could see what they were doing to my hair. Whatever it was, though, it felt _weird_. My hair felt tight against my scalp, with only a few wispy hairs left hanging around my face. She even tried to clip my bangs back, but it didn't work.

"Finished!"

I looked at my reflection in the mirror and was stunned. That woman knew what she was doing. I had never looked better in my life. My thick hair was done in two French braids , which were tied together at the bottom. Little wisps of hair came out, framing my face. She took half my bangs while I was staring at my reflection and forced them to stay clipped back.

"Happy?"

"With my appearance? Sure. With the circumstances..."

The woman snickered cynically before saying, "Alright; you're free to go to your cell. But don't get any smart ideas! There are guards all over the place here."

_Oh, I know,_ I said to myself with a secret smirk. _They're a big part of the plan, after all._

That was right. The plan was to seduce--Satoko would be doing this--the guard of our cell. We would then trick him into coming into our cell long enough to have a 'deep oil massage', if you wanted to call it that. I wouldn't. This massage was going to include a lot of sharp weapons and pain. Then I would tie him and gag him and cover him with one of the cell blankets. Anyone who came looking for us--because we would then escape the cell--would think that was us. It wouldn't matter if they discovered it wasnt us, because we would steal clothes and walk around as auctioneers until we found a way to get out.

It was perfect.

"You ready?" Satoko asked, running up to my side; she was shaking.

"Yeah." I paused, trying to collect myself. "You?"

"Sure. It's a good thing we're wearing these clothes. It makes seducing a whole lot easier." She laughed, and I nodded. It was true! The clothes were so revealing! I would be surprised if he didn't drool at the sight of us. Or Satoko, at least.

As we approached, Satoko straightened up and allowed a smirk to slither across her face. Clearing her throat, she walked up to him and said, "Hello."

He was surprised, to say the least. Obviously not many people came up to say hi to him, and I could understand why that was, especially in this place. He was a guard for slaves, first of all, and, secondly, he was kind of sleazy looking with oily, scarred skin, a squished face, and greasy hair.

"You look tired," Satoko commented, running her pale hand along his bare forearm. "It must be tough standing there all day with nothing to do. Look at all this heavy armor! And the weapons!"

"Wow," I breathed in mock admiration. "You must be really strong." I fluttered my eyelashes at him, feeling sick as I did so.

"I am, aren't I?" the guy beamed. He straightened up and puffed out his chest. Satoko had to hold in a snicker.

"Wow! Your muscles are really tense!" she exclaimed, her hands on his back. "You need a massage!"

"No! I...I can't take off work!"

"Come on! It will be quick!" I urged.

"Well..." The guard looked from Satoko, to me, and back again, and shrugged. "Okay, why not!"

"Why not indeed..." Satoko muttered, a glint in her eye. She was scaring me.

The guard fumbled with the keys as Satoko rubbed his back. "Uh...just h-hang on a m-moment," he stuttered, sweating.

"The longer it takes, the longer until the tension in your back is released!"

The man hurried up pretty quickly after that.

I had the task of taking his stuff and putting it in the corner after that. Satoko laid him, face down, on the dirt floor, after that, and began the 'massage'. I tossed her a few of his weapons and then it began. She and I began going over his back with sharp objects, muffling his screams with his shirt. We didn't give him big cuts or scratching, not finding it necessary, but he did have a few lines all over his back which bled. After a few minutes, I slammed the hilt of his sword on his head, and he was unconscious.

"Gather everything up," I whispered as I dragged his limb body towards the wall. I used the ropes we had been bound with and tied them tight. There would be no escape.

Then, I threw the thin blanket stored in the room over him. Using the keys he had, Satoko and I snuck out of the cell and hurried silently along.

But there was no hope of escape.

The man from earlier--the one with the iridescent red hair--stood before us, smiling venomously.

"Going somewhere?"

* * *

**a/n **hey, thanks for reading!! I hope you enjoyed! This is the last one I had written as of now; I don't know when I will get another out. I am SOOOO sorry, but as I've explained countless times before to many differet people many different places, my Naruto mood is not currently present. It will come back--but I don't know when. My deepest apologies. I hope you stick with this, but if you don't, I completely understand

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